Ex-FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH Guitarist JASON HOOK Doesn't Have To Run His Ideas By A Committee For Approval In His New Band FLAT BLACK

In a new interview with the On The Road To Rock podcast with Clint Switzer, former FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Jason Hook spoke about the blend of melody and aggression on the upcoming debut album from his band FLAT BLACK, "Dark Side Of The Brain", which will arrive on July 19 via Fearless Records. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "FLAT BLACK is all about creating a balance. I love really aggressive music and the energy that comes from that, but I'm also a fan of good melody. So it's really just trying to always work out that blend. It's impossible to satisfy everyone's palate, so you might as well just let go of that right out of the gate. And what I tried to do is I wanted to make songs that I like. I have the freedom now. It's just, like, if I like it, it gets used. If I don't like it, we don't use it. It was really important for me to satisfy my own heart. And so there is that variety. I like really aggressive stuff, but I don't think you can… I think the balance has to be there. If it's just too brutal, then you're shutting off people that like not that."

Asked if he thinks FLAT BLACK is almost like a natural progression from FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH in terms of where he is now as an artist, Hook said: "Yeah. I had a pretty heavy hand in those [FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH] records. I was the one that would feel the stress and the pressure of… That thing was moving at Mach 10 at all times. So, we would come off tour and they'd be, like, 'You're gonna start a record in three weeks.' And I'd be, like, 'Fuck.' So out of panic, I would just sit up here and just prepare, prepare, prepare. It was a group effort — I'm not trying to take any credit away from anyone else — but I took those records dead serious, and I put a lot of work into those records. So if you're hearing anything that sounds familiar, that's why. And the only difference is that when I do something now, I don't have to run it by a committee for approval, which was — I found that frustrating."

"Dark Side Of The Brain" was produced by Hook and Chris Collier (KORN),and recorded at both Hook's home studio and The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Hook is joined in FLAT BLACK by singer Wes Horton, bassist Nick Diltz and drummer Rob Pierce.

In an interview with Jake Daniels of the Rock 100.5 The KATT radio station, Hook stated about how FLAT BLACK came together: "Well, I was pretty hell-bent on starting a new band. Music's in my blood. It's a part of my DNA, and I just knew that… I didn't really care how long it took. It just had to be potent. And so, one [musician] at a time… I found Rob first, and he's awesome. And then, of course, Nick; he's from Los Angeles. All my guys are just stellar players. And I wanted to have a good pack of songs. And so here we are."

Regarding the importance of getting along with his bandmates on a personal level, Hook said: "Well, it was a bit of a prerequisite to find guys that were mentally stable and free of drama and that we could hang. It's all about the hang. When you're on tour, you're stuck in this submarine, this rolling submarine, for 18 months. It's important that everyone is compatible. The personalities, I wanted to be very specific about that this time around… We're getting along great."

FLAT BLACK made its live debut on August 24, 2023 at the FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine, California as the support act for GODSMACK.

In October 2020, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH confirmed that it had officially parted ways with Hook eight months earlier during the band's sold-out European arena tour. He has since been replaced by renowned British virtuoso Andy James, who made his recording debut with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH on "Broken World", a song that was included on the second installment of the group's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction - Volume 2".

After his recovery from emergency gallbladder surgery at the end of 2019, Hook had to leave midway from FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's tour of Europe to address further complications.

Jason, who joined FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH in 2009, said about his exit from the band: "As for the reason I'm leaving… well, there really isn't just one. I've been in bands my entire life and I feel like I've done all the good that I can here. It's time to pass the baton and move on to new challenges."