MADBALL's FREDDY CRICIEN On Making Of 'Not Your Kingdom' Album: 'We Know Who We Are As A Band, For Better Or Worse'

In a new interview with Emilee Capogni, vocalist Freddy Cricien of New York hardcore veterans MADBALL spoke about the band's tenth studio album, "Not Your Kingdom", which was released on July 24 via Nuclear Blast. Regarding how the songwriting and recording process has changed for MADBALL since the making of the band's debut album, "Set It Off", which came out in 1994, Freddy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Musically, the album's very different from 'Set It Off'. Obviously, it's an evolution of MADBALL. The angst and the essence of MADBALL is always there. But musically it's obviously a different time and different version of us. Much, much different, much smoother, I would say, although we did have a pretty good setup when we did 'Set It Off'. We were in Massachusetts. It was at least my first time going to kind of like a — it was a home studio, but it was fancy for me. And our accommodations were cool. We weren't in the city. We all lived in the city, but we didn't record in the city, so it was, like, we were out in Massachusetts somewhere, and it was just a different environment, different vibe. And not necessarily a bad vibe, but it was a lot of pressure, from what I remember, because it was our first LP, our first full-length. We were just figuring out who we are as a band, still growing as people. We were young — yeah, still figuring a lot of things out. And there was a lot of pressure. And I didn't know how to write music that well. I was just starting to write my own lyrics and form my own ideas about structures. It was a cool experience, but it was a bit stressful. And, like I said, I didn't know a lot of things that I know now. And I don't know everything still today. But going into 'Not Your Kingdom', we're coming from a place of more experience. We know who we are as people, for better or worse. We know who we are as a band, for better or worse. I mean, we know now what this band is, what it represents and what it should sound like in 2026. And so the process just seemed a little more relaxed. There was a little more confidence, less pressure, for some weird reason, even though it was album number 10, and that's a big deal. That's a milestone record, at least for us. And, yeah, there were a lot of factors that created some healthy pressure. But we felt confident. The Mikes — I call them the Mikes; [MADBALL guitarist] Mike Gurnari [and MADBALL drummer] Mike Justian — the Mikes and I really had a good writing relationship, and so that just carried over to the recording process and everything else. It was just smooth, and we were on the same page with most things — music, structure, everything. So, yeah, it was cool. And then working with [co-producer] Andrew] Baylis was great. And we did it in Nashville, and that was relaxing, because [it was] close proximity to where we need to be. And, yeah, it was a very different experience just based on where we are in our lives."

Asked if any of the songs on "Not Your Kingdom", which marks MADBALL's first new album in eight years, were leftover tracks from previous LPs or if they are all brand-new tunes, Freddy said: "Oh, it's funny you say that. These are all brand-new songs. Some are older than others. Some were around for a couple of years because it was a long gap between records. And technically we could have probably done a record earlier than eight years or whatever it was. But we just were… pandemic happened, and things surrounding that affected everyone in the world. And so it wasn't time. And then finally when we felt it was time, this is when we made it happen. But we had some songs lingering for a while, and then some were written on the spot. There were two — at least two — songs that were written in the studio. And so a bit of both. Yeah. But nothing super old that we redid. Which is funny, because on 'Set It Off', to use that as a comparison like you did before, we did have old songs on 'Set It Off'. I was having this conversation with someone recently, off the record or whatever you wanna call it, and a lot of people don't realize, and all respect to 'Set It Off' — I mean, that was our first full-length. That was the record that put us on the map, really, in a lot of ways, that sort of introduced us to a lot of different people, even though it wasn't our first release. It was the record that kind of really brought a lot of attention to this band, and even stylistically it sort of cemented us. But there were a lot of old songs on 'Set It Off'. If you really look at it, there is songs from all our older releases just redone, because we didn't have a lot of material. But the new ones that we did have definitely stood out. But, yeah, this new record is all new stuff and all written by the Mikes and myself and a little bit of [MADBALL bassist] Paul [Delaney] sprinkled in there."

"Not Your Kingdom" was tracked at The Boneyard Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, with additional interludes recorded by Jeff "Stress" Davis and Chuck Treece at Chop Shop Studios. The album was produced and engineered by the team of Andrew Baylis, Aiden Thompson and Grady Saxman, with final mixing and mastering handled by Lee Rouse. The striking cover art features photography by the legendary Cornell Capa, courtesy of Magnum Photos and the Cornell Capa Estate.

MADBALL is:

Vocals - Freddy Cricien
Guitar - Mike Gurnari
Drums - Mike Justian
Bass - Paul Delaney

In August 2023, longtime MADBALL bassist Jorge "Hoya Roc" Guerra announced his departure from the band. Cricien later said that there was "no bad blood or animosity" between him and Guerra, explaining that they were "simply moving in different directions".

MADBALL originated in the late 1980s, as a side project of AGNOSTIC FRONT. The band developed after AGNOSTIC FRONT frontman Roger Miret would let his younger half-brother, Freddy Cricien, take the microphone and perform lead vocals during AGNOSTIC FRONT shows.

MADBALL's previous album, "For The Cause", was released in June 2018 via Nuclear Blast. The record was mixed and mastered by renowned producer Tue Madsen at Antfarm Studios in Denmark. It was co-produced by Tim Armstrong (RANCID),who is also featured on the album.

Photo credit: Dave Causa