And on the day of his album release, here's an email interview I conducted with Zach Hembree about his new record, pro wrestling, and life.
HELL-O Hembree. How's life?
Hey, I am doing pretty good overall. I saw the Dwarves play last night, and they were fucking great! Other than that, I am constantly busy with all things with the band. So, busy and good. Right now I am listening to a little Mercyful Fate and talking with you.
How would you describe Hembree's sound in your own words?
That's simple. We play "Fuck You Rock 'n' Roll".
It's a complete blur looking back at it now. For the most part, all songs were written and structured about six months prior to the recording. I wrote all the basic parts alone before there was a full band in place. The first line up of the band formed about three months before the recording. We had a few months to work on fleshing things out to our liking. We played our first two shows, first with the Murder Junkies, and then at AthFest, which is a massive annual Music Fest in Athens, GA.
We had good morale going in, and we knew what we wanted. I have spent so much time in studios at this point that I refuse to go in without being totally prepared. All drums and rhythm guitars were tracked the first day. All the guitar solos and bass were tracked the next day. I think that I tracked all of the vocals for the record in four hours. That approach to tracking vocals was 100 percent intentional. In one of my prior bands, I would spend countless hours in the booth just tracking a section of a song. That approach is fine for some, but it kills any vibe that I may feel with the song. After the 100th take of the same section, the honesty has been thrown out the window, and it becomes only about being perfect. I have a hard time even relating to my own lyrics at that point because I have totally lost sight of anything I was trying to convey after four hours on the same sentence.
I very much wanted our debut to be a proper mission statement of what we are about, which is the FUCK YOU mentality all the way. I think tracking our record in that fashion gave it more of a viscous disposition.
What fuels your song writing process?
It can start with a lyric, riff, or just a chord. But, I do become inspired at times by a certain idea or theme that will run across an entire batch of songs. I don't mean like a concept album, but maybe a certain way I am feeling or a subject matter that is on my mind fairly consistently. I can say the songwriting for the last record was 100 percent driven by anger and hatred for the human race. At that time, I was just disgusted with almost everything I saw on the media and from even peers at the time. For some reason or another, I allowed it to piss me off enough that a record came out of it, so overall I'll say it was a healthy anger. It sounds cliché, but it helped get some of that out of me. For now.
What's your favorite songs on the new album, and why?
I love every song on the record. There is no denying that at the root of HSS we are grounded from Punk Rock, but I hear so much more within the record than that. Doses of Southern and Classic Rock can be heard along with definite Heavy Metal influence. Which brings me to my favorite song, "Nothing to Prove.” I think the lyrics of the song sum up much of the album's overall message. The music is all over the place, more so than any other song on the album. It's beyond catchy and seamlessly weaves between classic Punk Rock, Metal and just Rock n Roll. The vocals are the same way. It features more clean vocals than much of the record but also the harshest screams and growls. Ash's guitar solo on "Nothing to Prove" is also my favorite of the record.
I've seen you in ECW shirts, so what's your favorite wrestling match of all time?
That is a fucking impossible question to answer. They would most certainly be matches from youth. One that comes to mind immediately is Vader vs Cactus Jack’s Texas Death Match at Halloween Havok ‘93. It was beyond brutal, especially for WCW. Another one that sticks out would be Ric Flair vs Terry Funk in an “I Quit” Match. Of course, I was a Macho man devotee as a child and a Hulkamaniac.
As soon as I saw the debut of the Undertaker at Survivor Series, he was instantly my favorite. He was the first heel I had ever cheered for, and I was elated when he defeated Hogan for the title. Undertaker could do no wrong for me.
Favorite heel?
Easy. Ric Flair. If anyone disagrees, you are wrong.
If you were a wrestler, what would your walk out music be?
Monster Magnet's instrumental, "Goliath and the Vampires."
Okay, back to the music. Your press release says fans of yours have gone as far as having your lyrics and such tattooed on their bodies. Can you elaborate on that?
Yea, man that is a trip and an honor. We have several different logos that have shown up on fans within the past year in the Atlanta and South Carolina areas. Also, the album title F.Y.F. tattoos keep showing up at shows and on social media. I have personally seen at least nine...May not sound like a lot to bigger bands, but if only one person had our art tattooed on them, then that would be enough to make me smile.
What can people expect when they see you live?
Energy. I for one come completely unhinged at shows. I have always been that way since I was a teen. I get onstage, and I'm ready for war. But, we are also in it for a good time, it ain't always about disgust and anger. It just depends on where the moment takes us.
What's one of your most memorable concert you ever witnessed?
That's easy. It's back to Monster Magnet. I saw them in Atlanta at the International Ballroom back 1998. They only played three songs, but it went on for about twenty-five minutes. Dave Wyndorf set his guitar on fire, smashed it, jumped headfirst off the amps, then brought out two naked women and simulated sex with them. I was 15 years old, nothing will beat that.
Every metal head has that one "ace in the hole" underground band or album to show their friends. What's yours?
I really can't answer that. My new favorite band changes more frequently than the seasons. ANTiSEEN used to be the band that I loved to turn people on to, but now everyone I know is fan.
What inscription would you put on your tombstone?
\"I came, I saw, I Got Blowed Up"
-Ernest P. Worrell
(Ernest Goes to Jail)
What can the metal maniacs expect from you in 2020 and beyond?
A lot more shows, and then expect our second record about this time next year.
Thank you Hembree for going one on one with the GRIM1. Anything you'd like to add?
The pleasure was mine. I enjoyed this one.
The pleasure was mine. I enjoyed this one.
Yea, listen to Rock and Roll, and flip the bird finger.
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