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ENTERTAINMENT
Hatebreed brings unrelenting sound to Huntington
HUNTINGTON -- Fast, unrelenting and brutal. It's easy to describe the initial sounds of Hatebreed's brand of blistering, hardcore metal.
Look deeper, as loyal fans do, and you find a five-member band that champions respect, humility and a tough-as-nails work ethic.
"That's how we've been since the beginning," said frontman Jamey Jasta, 29, in a recent telephone interview. "We step on stage every night with the utmost respect and the best attitude. People see it and feel it. It has become a part of their lifestyles as much as it is part of ours."
Hatebreed formed in 1994 in southern Connecticut, taking its name from a Misfits' song "Hate Breeders" and its style from a mix of traditional hardcore punk and metal bands like the Cro-Mags, Agnostic Front, Celtic Frost and Venom.
The band's lineup includes Jasta, Chris Beattie (bass), Sean Martin (guitar/backing vocals), Matt Byrne (drums), and Frank Novinec (guitar).
Tonight, Hatebreed performs at Club Fluid (formerly the MonkeyBar) as part of the Jagermeister Music Tour. Metal acts 3 Inches of Blood and Xfactor1 round out the bill. Tickets are $20.
Also appearing are the Jagerettes, who will toss free swag to the masses, and the Lizardman, a self-proclaimed "professional freak" and body modification aficionado.
It should be noted that although Type O Negative is part of the Jagermeister Music Tour, the gothic metal band is not featured on the Huntington bill.
Hatebreed is no stranger to Huntington, having played both X-Fest 2002 and a fistful of shows at the YWCA and the MonkeyBar in recent years.
This visit will be the last before dropping the first DVD "Live Dominance," due in September, and a covers album "For the Lions," featuring Hatebreed's versions of songs by Metallica, Negative Approach, Obituary, and others, which should be released before the end of the year.
The group plans to spend the remainder of 2008 prepping for a new album of original material.
The Connecticut rockers have already recorded four full-length albums of originals, including the landmark "Satisfaction is the Death of Desire" (1997) and their most recent LP "Supremacy" (2006). The band has sold more than one million album copies collectively in America.
The group's inspired live shows and exhaustive touring schedule have given the band a steady and growing fan base.
Hatebreed has toured with musical idols like Glen Danzig and Slayer, spent five summers in the sun on the heavy metal touring carnival Ozzfest, and crisscrossed America as headliners more times than they can count.
Jasta's touring schedule is filled out with an exhausting line-up of additional business ventures.
He owns and operates Stillborn Records, home to metalcore acts Subzero and Full Blown Chaos, and Hatewear, a clothing line catering to the hardcore lifestyle.
Toss in two side projects -- Icepick and Kingdom of Sorrow -- and his sometimes touring solo band and Jasta is a very busy man.
"I wouldn't want it any other way," he said with a laugh.
Oh, but there's more. He's also working on two books for publication, possibly this late fall/early winter.
The first book is a Hatebreed retrospective, including lyrics, explanations behind songs and some stories from the road. The second is a collection of memories from his 3-and-1/2 years as host of MTV2's "Headbanger's Ball."
"The Hatebreed book is going to be like a coffee-table book, and the 'Headbanger's Ball' book is more of a retrospective, looking back at the bands that were on the show, the places we went, everything I loved about doing that show."
Until then, the band will continue hammering audiences this summer on the Jagermeister jaunt.
"The crowds have been resilient," Jasta said. "We had a tornado warning issued before a show in Omaha recently, but that didn't keep people from coming out."
Even more encouraging, Jasta said, has been the audience enthusiasm to the current set list.
"We went into this tour with some skepticism," he said. "The material on the record ("Supremacy") we're touring on felt old to us. We've been playing it for more than two years now, and we weren't sure how the fans would react to it. So far, the crowds are going insane for the material from this record. It's been a good time."
Summer schedule at Fluid
Here are some other upcoming metal shows that will stop at Fluid this summer.
July 1 Ten Years
July 6 Foundation/Displaced
July 13 Nigel Dupree (son of Jackyl's Jesse James Dupree)
July 20 Monstrosity
July 23 Dope/A New Revolution/Bobaflex
July 28 Alien Blakk
July 29 Ashes Divide
July 31 A Life Once Lost/Emmure
Aug. 6 Ra
Aug. 12 Summer Thrash-and-Burn Tour
Aug. 17 Testament
Aug. 18 Walls of Jericho/36 Crazyfists
J. Medicine Hat
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents "Boom A Ring"
Marshall Artist Series: "Nunsense"
Comedian Mike McCarthy
Covered Bridge Car Club of Milton
"The Witches' Ball"
The Bob & Tom Comedy All-Stars Tour
Marshall vs. Houston (football)
The Disgruntled Clown
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame"