1. Hey Roc!!! I'm so glad to interview you finally!!! First off, I guess the band
started as a solo project, after that, how has the band worked til now and the band has some members? Tell us the current line up please!!
Roc: I started H.F.A. around 2003, just for fun. I would use a tape 4 track and drum machine, and record everything myself. I ended up releasing 1 demo entitled "Straight Out Tha Psych Ward" just to get the name out. Late last year I was approached by Brian Girardin, who had just opened a recording studio, and is a phenomenal drummer. I ended up recording 12 songs in his studio, doing the rhythm guitar tracks and vocals. Then Brian had 2 of his friends Play bass and lead guitar respectfully. So, essentially, I am the only member of Hatred For All, however, the album would not have been able to be recorded without their help, and I am very grateful for that. The people involved with the album are:
Roc P. Guitar/Vocals
Brian Girardin Drums
Nick Llerandi Solos
John Llerandi - Bass
2. The band has tons of grooves and slams that NYDM has. The band reminds me of Internal Bleeding, Disfigured and etc. So describe the bands sound and what bands influence the band a lot.
Roc: When I wrote these songs, my intention was to write what flowed out of my fingertips naturally. I really wanted an old-school N.Y. vibe. Not too technical, catchy, but slammy as fuck and pissed off as hell! In general, my main influence was the essence of the 90's and what I grew up on and love listening to.
3. Your vocals sound like a mix between growls and gutturals for me. Describe your vocal style in detail and who influenced you a lot to come up with your current style?
Roc: When it comes to my vocals, my intention is to sound brutal, but have people be able to relatively understand what I say. I have been practicing my vocals for over 10 years, so my biggest influences are guys like Frank Rini, John Gallagher,
and Frank Mullen.
4. As far as slams, how do you create those parts? Maybe you learned a lot from Internal Bleeding and other NYDM bands for that?
Roc: For this album, I would make a scratch drum track, on my computer, envisioning in my head what I would play, then once the drum track was done, I'd play along to it and let the music just flow. I would say that growing up on long island around bands like I.B., Repud, and Disfigured, that it definitely had a big influence on how I write.
5. I can hear some essences of hardcore. Everyone knows New York is well known for hardcore as well as death metal. So you've been into it as well as DM? Do you take some essences from hardcore music for the band?
Roc: Yeah man, new-school HC is a big influence on my style. I love bands like Six Ft. Ditch, Together We Fall, Boxcutter, Next Step Up(who were covered by Dying Fetus).
6. What kind of gear do you use? How does writing songs work?
Roc: To be honest, right now I have the shittiest equipment EVER. I was addicted to hard drugs for a long time, so I ended up selling all my equipment at one point. My lyrics deal with my drug use a lot, and getting clean. I have been clean for 7 months now. Back to my equipment, I was itching to write music, so my cousin Tommy ended up giving me his old Squier strat and a piece of shit fender amp. I ended up buying a Boss metal zone pedal and just started writing like crazy. On the recording, I used an E.S.P. guitar(I forgot which model) and recorded through this fuckin sick Mesa Boogie rectifier(I also forgot which model of the amp).
7. As for guitar sound, your riffs are so chuggy and very groovy. So what kind of guitar sound do you want to create and what bands influence your current playing style?
Roc: The guitar sound I was looking for was something very heavy, but clear as well. I tuned to C or C sharp but used 11 gauge strings, that, mixed a sick recording, made the sound really brutal and clear. I couldn't be happier with how it came out. Some bands that influenced my current style were, I.B., Devourment, Six Ft. Ditch, Next Step Up, Misery Index, Dying Fetus. Topics that influenced me are hatred, drug use, and necrophilia, stuff like that.
8. The band logo is pretty cool. It's kinda different from other brutal death bands. Who did it?
Roc: Thanks. My friend James Beach, one of the singers in the hardcore band PunchYourFace did the logo for me. He is a SICK graff artist, so I approached him about drawing a logo for me, and he was more than happy to do it. He also drew some artwork for the album layout. I wanted to go with a different style logo because I believe there are already so many sick DM logos, that I wanted to try something different. Also, coming from N.Y., one of the birthplaces of Graff, I think it's fitting.
9. What kind of releases will you have? Do you have any upcoming merch?
Roc: Right now, we have 1 song entitled "How Many Have Died" coming out on the upcoming Deathmetal.us compilation. Then, our album should be out before the summer, but we don't have a set date yet. We just started the layout process, so in due time it will be out. We don't wanna rush anything ya know? After we start selling some discs, we intend to use whatever money we make to make shirts.
10. Any new sick bands from New York now? What do you think about the current scene, if you compare it with the period Repudilation was around?
Roc: One band that I thought had a lot of potential was 13Bloodlines, which Brian was also the drummer in. It was started by one of my best friends, Andrew Hogan (Ex-I.B./Ex-Disfigured). Other than that, I think Revenence is really good, then you got Vomitous who are fucking awesome. PunchYourFace's new album is really cool. To be honest, I am not really involved with the local scene around here; shit has gotten stale since our heyday. I mainly follow bands and scenes from other states and countries.
11. Do you have any side projects besides Hatred For All?
Roc: I was recently approached by Lou from Vomitous to do a guest verse on a song. I am really honored to be offered this opportunity and cant wait to spew some sickness on one of their songs!! Other than that, I will be laying down vocals on some music that Brian has been working on. It's not brutal DM but it's still really extreme stuff!
12. Thanks for the intie bro, tell us the bands future plan!!!
Roc: No problem man, and thank you as well! For now, our short-term plans are to get the album out, and make some shirts. I'm just taking it day by day and seeing where it goes.
13. Any last words you would like to add?
Roc: I want to say thanks to everyone who has shown interest and support in Hatred For All. It really means a lot to me because without you guys we'd be nothing! Also, Seiji you run a great zine and I am proud to have been interviewed by you! To all the fakers and haters- ya'll can suck a dick and catch fuckin A.I.D.S., you motherfuckin bitches! To all my brutal death metal brethren Stay brutal so we can all collectively unleash more filth and sickness upon this fucking hell hole known as earth!!