Interviews

Hatebreed interview w/ Matt Byrne by: Alexa Linger

As Hatebreed prepared to obliterate North America on the first night of their US tour, Empire Extreme sat down with Matt Byrne, the drummer of the Connecticut metalcore band.

Published

10 years ago

May 27, 2016

Alexa Linger

Hatebreed interview w/ Matt Byrne

By Alexa Linger

As Hatebreed prepared to obliterate North America on the first night of their US tour, Empire Extreme sat down with Matt Byrne, the drummer of the Connecticut metalcore band. From their humble beginnings touring in a station wagon with the wheels falling off to touring Europe to promote their newest album The Concrete Confessional, Matt talked about the record, his musical roots, vegetarianism, looking like a teacher, and what’s next for the band.

Empire Extreme: I know your uncle was a drummer, but did your parents play any instruments? Are you from a musically talented family?
Matt Byrne: No. His parents were actors in the Vaudeville era, so early on, when they were kids, they were traveling around the country because the places to play were hotels. My father – he always jokes around, like, there’s me playing drums and my sister who does acting – off-Broadway stuff – so he’s always like ‘I don’t have an ounce of talent. It went to you guys.’ So, on my mother’s side that was my uncle who plays drums – her youngest brother. She never played anything, but he really influenced me to get into the drums. I tried playing guitar and I was terrible at it. So, I went to the drums and I got it a little more and that was it.

EE: I do yoga sometimes and I know you do, too. It’s a great way to relax. What is your favorite pose? Do you feel the breathing or anything from yoga helps with your drumming or keeps you calm before a show?
MB: As far as yoga goes, I like yin yoga – the really deep stretching – mostly floor exercises. Though I guess my favorite poses are Pigeon or King Pigeon or Frog where you’re really opening up your hips and stretching your legs. I feel a big difference and I see a big difference in my playing. As far as stretching goes, I’ll do your Downward Dog and just the basic stuff. I know it sounds crazy, but it really helps the playing.

EE: Okay, awesome! I read you’ve been dabbling in vegetarianism. What made you decide to make the switch? What has been the hardest part? How has it been on tour?
MB: It hasn’t been [hard] thus far, but we haven’t toured the States yet. I’ve only been vegetarian for a month. It’s relatively new – I just started it on our last tour in Europe and it’s kinda easier in Europe… I really got into it for health reasons – blood pressure, cholesterol, what meat does to your colon… It was more like ‘I’m getting a little older every day, right?’ And I wanted to switch and I wanted to notice a change in myself. It hasn’t been hard to give up meat.

EE: Who or what made you want to become a drummer or did you fall into it?

MB: Like I said, I tried guitar first. I didn’t have the hand-eye coordination and I just didn’t get it. As far as drumming goes, my uncle was a drummer and I’ve been watching him since I was 5 or 6 years old and he had an old drum set and he basically said ‘You don’t want guitar? O.K. You want to get into something, why don’t you try the drums? If you like what you’re doing, I’ll give you my old drum kit for free, but you gotta take lessons. I’m not going to give it to you to bang on, make noise, and drive everyone nuts. I want you to understand what you’re doing.’ So, I took lessons and I had fun with it. I understood it – the independence between the limbs and everything like that – and I just ran with it.

EE: Who are some of your influences? I know you like jazz. Do you take any influences from jazz?
MB: As far as influences go, Dave Lombardo was always been my favorite metal guy, straight up. He’s got that punk rock approach – really fast and real busy – it’s almost like a jazz guy’s approach with the fills and stuff. And then I really like Dave Garibaldi from Tower of Power. My teacher at the time turned on to funk and that type of stuff and he was the guy we really focused on.

EE: What was the first song you learned on drums?
MB: Hysteria by Def Leppard ‘cause it’s so easy – it’s just that four on the floor. I think it’s the perfect introduction to drumming.

EE: You’ve been with Hatebreed since 2001 – that’s a long time. Describe the past fifteen years in one word.
MB: Adventurous, I’d say. I try not to take anything for granted, so when you get into a band, you never know how long it’s going to last. I never expected it to last this long… I don’t think any of us did. So, every day, every tour, every album is an adventure.

EE: Do you believe The Concrete Confessional, which deals with social issues like the rise of terrorism, police brutality, greed, betrayal, moral decay, and the fading promise of the American dream, was an important album to make in 2016? It’s one of the Top 25 Most Anticipated Metal Albums of the year, but do you think it could have been as relevant at any other time?
MB: Well, those types of issues have always been around, so I think it would have translated to any time period. But with the election coming up, terrorism, the Internet as crazy and influential as it is… it [The Concrete Confessional] is great timing for 2016 and I think releasing the first song we did – A.D. – really deals with The American Dream. Does it exist anymore? Is it the same as it was? It’s more of a socio-political theme rather than what would be our standard theme of self-empowerment and positivity. I think it hit home for a lot of people throughout the world.

EE: What has been the craziest pit you’ve ever seen at a Hatebreed show?
MB: There’s a bunch, man. I remember playing Hellfest in Syracuse – it must have been 2001 or 2002 – it was at an outdoor venue where they do fairs and stuff. It was in this stable area where they have cows and stuff, so it was dirt floors. The crowd was huge – there was a couple thousand people. We probably played fifteen, twenty minutes because the circle-pitting got so big and was kicking up so much dirt that nobody could see anything and we were afraid of people getting hurt.

EE: What do you do when you’re not making music or on tour?
MB: I try to relax, hang out with the friends I have left that I haven’t lost contact with… I have a 1980 Camaro, so I mess with that. I’m by no means some master mechanic, but it’s cool to have the hotrod and tinker with that and go cruising around. I try to take yoga classes three or four times a week and really perfect that [yoga practice]. I like to cook, read, and watch movies – I’m a homebody when I’m not on tour.

EE: What album are you most proud of?
MB: The Concrete Confessional – it’s the newest, the freshest, and I had the most fun playing it. Not that I dislike our old stuff, but a song like I Will Be Heard I’ve played 2,000 times since it came out. I really like my playing on the new record – whether I was going fast or not – I was really proud of that. Going back, I’d say Rise of Brutality has a soft spot with me. To this day, though it was 2003, I remember the recording process… It was my time to shine as far as metal chops go.

EE: What’s your favorite song to play live?
MB: My favorite song to play live right now would be A.D. or Looking Down the Barrel of Today.
EE: Looking Down the Barrel of Today is my favorite.
MB: Well, you might hear it today. You never know. Older songs – I still like Beholder of Justice – there’s a lot of groove to it and I’m able to open up on the drums. There’s a lot of double bass. And we don’t do it often, but I love the Slayer cover of Ghost of War. Dave Lombardo is my favorite drummer – I’m trying to do him justice up there. I love playing that. It’s a lot of fun for a drummer.

EE: Any chance we’ll hear that tonight?
MB: No, probably not. We play songs from all of our albums, but with the new album coming out today, we’ll probably focus on that.

EE: What do you want people – especially new listeners – to know about you and Hatebreed?
MB: That’s a good question. I think the reputation of the band over the years has been very rowdy. At a Hatebreed show, you expected to see a riot and not even finish the show because the cops would show, there’d be crazy fights or something… It’s really not like that anymore. It’s a safer environment – not to say the pits aren’t crazy and everyone’s not having a good time… It’s safer where the front windows aren’t getting broken out of the club, not everyone’s leaving in an ambulance, you know? New listeners should know it’s safe to come to a show, it’s awesome, and you’ll have a great time.

As far as about myself… It’s crazy – I’ve always tried to fight it or shrug it off, but now I embrace it: I’m the guy in the band who probably looks like he shouldn’t be in the band. Personality wise, too. It get it all the time: ‘you look more like a teacher!’ It’s funny – I was going to school to be a teacher, so I see where that comes from. People always say ‘It doesn’t seem like you should be the drummer of Hatebreed!’

EE: My daughter’s history teacher is in a metal band, so I get it.
MB: There you go! It’s not such a crazy thing!

EE: What’s next for Hatebreed?
MB: Well, we were off for seven, eight months making the record, we just got done with a two week European tour, and we’re going into this month long tour with DevilDriver and Devil You Know, so the touring cycle is just beginning for this album. Right now, on the horizon, it’s just touring. We’ve got a lot of good shows lined up, festivals in the U.S. and Europe, and we’re going to ride out the year on the road and see what the next year brings.

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Alexa Linger

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Interviews

EIHWAR COME TO BALTIMORE TO BRING THE VIKING WAR TRANCE

Published

6 days ago

August 20, 2026

Ron

IVE BEEN SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THE UPCOMING TOUR FOR EIHWAR. I FOUND THEM ON THE INTERNET AND THEY BLEW ME AWAY WITH THEIR VIKING/FOLK/PAGAN MUSIC MIXED WITH ELECTRONIC. EIHWAR WILL BE COMING TO THE RECHER IN TOWNSON MARYLAND ON AUGUST 30TH. EMPIRE EXTREME GOT TO ASK THE DUO A FEW QUESTIONS BEFORE THE SHOW.

ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT DOING YOUR FIRST AMERICAN TOUR? ANY AMERICAN THINGS OR PLACES YOU WANT TO EXPLORE?

ASRUNN: For now, I have to admit I’m still completely stunned. I’m not excited or imagining it yet at all. Right now, I feel like I’m about to go to a country that only exists in TV shows, so I’m still kind of wading through disbelief.

Once I’m actually there, though, I’ll probably start talking way too fast and way too loud, and I’ll want to go way too everywhere.

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN VIKING WAR TRANCE AS A GENRE OF MUSIC?

MARK: Viking War Trance is basically what happens when you mix Nordic folk influences, tribal rhythms, electronic music and something much more primitive and aggressive. We wanted music that makes you want to dance, fight and enter some kind of trance at the same time. So instead of trying to fit into an existing genre, we just called it Viking War Trance. And about the word “war”: it’s not a war against others, but a war against ourselves. Against our rigidity, our limiting beliefs, our fears. Victory is letting go.

WHAT CAN FANS EXPECT WHEN SEEING THE BAND LIVE?

MARK: Our concerts are much more physical than people sometimes expect from listening to the albums. We want people to dance, scream, jump, crowd surf and completely lose themselves for an hour. It’s somewhere between a concert, a rave and a pagan ritual, but with a lot of joy. “Joyful chaos” is the word that Asrunn often use.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE PLAYING HELLFEST AND WACKEN?

ASRUNN: It’s basically spending an entire hour on stage thinking, “Seriously, what the hell am I doing here? This makes absolutely no sense,” and then, the second it’s over, thinking, “Fuck, that was WAY TOO SHORT!”, hahahahaha!

In reality, it’s a mix of intense concentration and this explosion of joy inside when we manage to bring such a huge crowd into our madness with us. It’s as if, all of a sudden, we’re no longer men and women, but one human tribe, united by joy and raw energy.

HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT YOUR STYLE OF VIKING MUSIC AND IMAGE DIFFERS FROM OTHER VIKING AND FOLK METAL?

MARK: What sets us apart from folk metal is simply that we’re not metal. We don’t use distorted guitars or acoustic drums. As for pagan folk, I think the differences are pretty obvious too. Most pagan bands take a fairly ceremonial approach, resulting in atmospheric, ambient music. Some of them are even very serious. From our point of view, seriousness is a symptom of bad digestion. We prefer to fool around.

As for the peace you find in atmospheric ritual music, we don’t know much about it. Asrunn, our leader, is nothing like a priestess in a linen dress singing with butterflies in the forest. She’s living anger. Our music is joyful and brutal, primitive techno made to dance to until the end of the night.

The biggest difference is also, and perhaps above all, harmonic, in the musicological sense. With ancient instruments, it’s difficult to modulate frequently or to play every note in every octave. We use machines, and that gives us much more freedom to create melodies and chord progressions that evolve constantly and are far more pop-oriented than ancient instruments would normally allow.

DREAM TOUR: YOU CAN GO ON TOUR WITH ANY 2 OTHER BANDS, WHO DO YOU CHOOSE?

ASRUNN: MmmmdzgebhfugzFDBZueisfg that’s WAY too hard to choooooose HAAAAA! I’d say……….. NIN and… well, Sofia Isella, lately. She’s tooooooo good to be true.

MARK: The Prodigy and Peter Gabriel

FAVORITE GAME OF THRONES CHARACTER?

MARK: Don’t know, but I like the soundtrack.

ASRUNN: Bree Van De Kamp.

IF YOU COULD RESURRECT ONE HISTORIC VIKING WHO WOULD IT BE?

MARK: Honestly, my memories from that time aren’t clear enough for me to really know. But I was very fond of the monk Eadwig of Durham, and I’d be curious — and happy — to see him again.

ASRUNN: Lagertha, to prove to Mark that he’s wrong when he says she had bigger boobs than me.

IF YOU HAVEN’T BOUGHT UR TICKETS YET GET THEM HERE

About Author

Ron

Ron has keen eye for new talent, a love for the underground, and a tremendous passion for music of any genera. You’ll probably bump into him at a horror convention or some seedy club checking out the next need-to-know band.

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Interviews

INTERVIEW WITH KURT DEIMER

Published

4 months ago

May 8, 2026

Ron

EMPIRE EXTREME GOT TO INTERVIEW KURT DEIMER ABOUT THE NEW ALBUM “A GROG IS BORN” HIM WORKING WITH GEOFF TATE AND JOSH TODD AND BEING KILLED BY MICHAEL MEYERS AND HORROR MOVIES

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Ron

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Empire Interviews

Inferious—Interview

Published

4 months ago

May 5, 2026

Josh Drespling

by Josh Drespling

I was at Preserving Underground to cover Filth and Resistor. I was all set with my photo pass and cameras at the ready. And then this young band exploded onto the stage. No grand entrance, no intro music, no flashy lights—just a wall of noise from the first guitar chord and a guttural growl that seemed to come from somewhere below the floorboards. I was blown away. Thoroughly impressed.

This band was Inferious, out of Dayton, Ohio. If you look up the word “inferious,” most dictionaries will tell you it means something low-status, submissive, or fit for sacrifice. But this Ohio metalcore outfit Inferious has spent the last several years proving that definition couldn’t be more wrong. Tonight in the basement of a converted church, Inferious delivered raw, sweat-soaked fury to all who were smart enough to show up early.

Before their set was even half over, I made up my mind that I had to talk to them and let our readers know about this band. Here is how it went:

Empire: This was the first time I have ever seen you guys. I’ve heard your name before but never had the chance to listen. The show tonight was freaking awesome. I loved it from the first few notes. The vocals and the guitar tone just hit ya right in the chest.

Since I am a new fan, can you give me the nickel tour of how you came together and I understand you are from Dayton, Ohio.

Shaun O’Shaughnessy – Guitarist: I live in Dayton, and the original band members all formed in Dayton, but it was kind of a collage of multiple band folks. People from the southwest Ohio area. Gabe [McQueen – vocals] and I were there at the beginning, and then through some line-up changes, this is our current and most solid touring line-up so far with Cody and Kyle. They also are from the area and have been in several bands. So they were always in the same circles, at the same shows, talking to the same people. It all worked out one day.

Empire: Given that, it seems like there is a healthy music scene in Dayton. Are there any good clubs, any fields to play in?

Shaun: It’s hard to say Dayton, Ohio, specifically so much as just southwest Ohio because of the way that Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnati form like a little triangle. You’re only an hour apart from each other. So we can get into that larger music scene pretty easily. So Dayton itself has venues, but the whole collective area has stuff. There’s some house venues, like Gnome House, there’s Bob’s, but then Cincinnati has Madison Live, and Design Collective [DSGN CLLCTV] was doing shows for a while, but I think they got in trouble.
Cody: Yeah, it some code stuff.

Empire: I think there are a couple decent places in Akron, and even across the border is Huntington, WV?

Shaun: Yeah, that area still does have sick stuff. It’s just farther away from our personal local scene. Cleveland is kind of separate from us too.

Cody: That’s not necessarily our scene, but there is such a good underground local scene from the Huntington / Athens / Charleston area. Shout to Feverwar.

Shaun: We were just at the Grog Shop [outside Cleveland].

Cody: We were at the New Foundry not too long ago.

Empire: Oh, yeah, like upstairs?

Shaun: No, it is Foundry’s new location.

Empire: I’ve not been there.

Shaun: It looks basically like the old one, but it’s new.

Empire: You mentioned the Grog Shop. Were you guys there with Filth and Resistor?

Shaun: Yeah, we’ve been on tour with Filth and Resistor. The first half of the tour had Two-Piece on it; we missed them, but now Mono’s [Monochromatic Black] on for the second half, and they’re homies.

Gabe and I toured with them in Inferious a couple years ago with band called AMTAE, and Monochromatic Black. So, those are long-time homies as well. So, we’ve known Tanya [Elizabeth (Beickert) – Vocals] and Eddie [DeCesare – Drums] for a long time, and Pierce [Akers – Guitar] is our new best friend as well.

Empire: So, it’s just like a big hang for you guys.

Shaun: Yeah, all the homies are back. We’ve toured with Filth before too; we were out with them on the Oceano tour, and then actually a year ago, I think like right now, like today a year ago, we toured with Filth also. So, it’s Filth and Oceano, and then Filth again.

So, it’s been fun to have a full circle of friend hangs, and every night’s been sick. The show turnouts have been amazing, and then just hanging out with all our friends has been amazing.

Empire: That’s part of what makes it fun. Whether you have 50 people or 1000, you have that camaraderie and shared experience.

Empire: So do you currently have an album out? Where do you guys stand with that?

Gabe: We have music out everywhere, on all music platforms: Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and YouTube Music. Shit, if you even got to rip that shit, YouTube to MP4, do it, man!

Shaun: We got your back. We got three full lengths and an EP. We are working on a new EP with a label we’re signed to that we’ll announce here soon, but that’s going to be really exciting stuff, and just stoked to be able to get that out soon.

Empire: Cool. So don’t say the label name, but your deal is in place, and then the new album in the fall, winter, spring?

Shaun: Yeah, the EP should be coming out sometime this year, if all the schedules align and everything, but that’s in the works.

Empire: Cool. Filth tour, what’s after that?

Shaun: Finishing up the EP. Record release cycle, and then hopefully touring in support of that. Whether it’s co-headlining with somebody or doing some more support stuff, we’re down for whatever. Hopefully we can fill up the rest of the year.

You know, touring is hard financially, so while we’re able to still make ends meet on the road, it’s hard to pay all the bills, so we’ve got to go home, stack our bread back up, and then be ready to go back out again.

Empire: I understand. Is this your first time in Pittsburgh?

Shaun: We’ve actually played Preserving. This is at least the fifth time.

We played the DIY room, we played this room, this orientation, we played this room when it was facing the other direction. AJ, the owner, has been good to us. He is a rad dude.

Empire: AJ is great.

Shaun: The record shop and merch store upstairs is sick, I just bought a shirt, a Never Ending Game shirt, because we have to do a laundry soon, and I bought a shirt to extend one more day to get through.

Empire: Anything you guys want to add, anything going on? Shameless plugs?

Shaun: This has been a kind of sick tour, because I think we’ve all got to see family members. Gabe’s dad dropped him off, so we got to see Gabe’s dad. We got to go get breakfast with my mom and some family, I saw my aunt. Cody’s mom let us stay at her crib, and we got to hang out with her and his family. Kyle’s family came out last night and hung out, and that was pretty sick, so it’s been a good time.

Empire: Kyle hasn’t said anything, so tell me about your family coming out and seeing the show.

Kyle: I mean, it was my sister’s first time seeing us live.

Empire: What did she have to say? I mean, I’m sure she knew the style.

Kyle: Oh, yeah, she’s conditioned to it.

Empire: She’s not like a Britney Spears fan at a hardcore show?

Kyle: No, no, she’s by far not a normie, but close to it.

Empire: Thank you, gentlemen. That’s all I have today. Appreciate it, and thanks for the show. It was great; loved it.

Shaun: See you next time.

Before that night at Preserving Underground, I’ll be honest: Inferious was just a name on a show flyer. Another opening band before the acts I actually came to see.

That’s the thing about this level of heavy music. The headliners get the lights, the longer set, and the crowd that’s already warmed up. But the openers? They get twenty-five minutes, a soundcheck that barely counts, and a room full of people who are mostly looking at their phones. Inferious didn’t just overcome that. They incinerated it.

What struck me most, sitting down with Shaun, Gabe, Cody, and Kyle after the show, was how unpretentious they were. No egos. No rock-star posturing. Just four guys from southwest Ohio who’ve been grinding in the same circles, playing the same basement venues, and slowly building something real. They talked about the small venues with the same reverence other bands reserve for stadiums. They shouted out Feverwar. They bought merch from the shop upstairs to make it through one more day on the road.

That’s the part you don’t see from the crowd. The financial grind. The van trouble. The “stack our bread back up” reality of modern touring. And yet, here they were—genuinely stoked to have seen family members at shows, genuinely grateful for AJ at Preserving keeping the doors open for underground bands, and genuinely excited about an upcoming EP they couldn’t even name the label for yet.

Inferious may have a name that suggests something low-status, something sacrificial. But after watching them level a converted church in New Kensington, and after listening to them talk about their scene with the easy confidence of people who have nothing to prove, I think the definition needs an update.

Check them out on all the streaming platforms. Catch them when they roll through your town on the next tour. And for the love of God, show up early.

You never know which opening band is going to blow your doors off.

About Author

Josh Drespling

Josh is the Publisher and creator of Empire Extreme and it’s sister publication Kingdom Extreme Magazine. He is an accomplished writer, photographer and graphic designer. He is always conjuring up new ideas and has a amazing passion for the music industry and all the things that surround it.

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