HATEBREED Frontman: 'This Band And The Message Is An Institution'

HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta recently spoke to Ray Hogan of NorwalkAdvocate.com about the group's participation in the 11th annual Ozzfest, which rolls into Hartford, CT Sunday. This year marks HATEBREED's fourth year on the Ozzfest but first on its main stage.

"We had doubts not knowing what there was going to be for a pit area. Playing to seats is a new element to us," Jasta said of appearing on the main stage. "We're playing to double or triple the amount of people on the other three Ozzfests we've done. It's more people that want to rock out and not be annihilated in the pit. Everybody is having a good time out there. We are really the only extreme band on the main stage."

Regarding "Supremacy", HATEBREED's fifth disc, which is due August 29 via Roadrunner Records, Jasta said, "This band and the message is an institution. It's like a restaurant you like. You don't want to show up and have the menu completely different. We've built this for 10 years, and while there are some new stylings and tempos, when you put it in you know right away that it's HATEBREED."

On running his own Stillborn Records out of West Haven and being a figurehead to the do-it-yourself underground hardcore and metal scenes:

"We just wanted to meld the scenes and have unity. Ten years later, it's a lot different. Ozzfest is a very eclectic crowd. Connecticut has really inspired us to tour out of the Northeast and look for bigger things, each time we come back it keeps us humble."

On being a band about unity and self-empowerment, despite its name:

"Some people have drawn the wrong conclusion. We try to tell people there's a deep message in a lot of our songs, an underlying message of hope or overcoming adversity. We're a band that represents life in general."