The Between Bites Interview With Matt Fox of Shai Hulud 11/21/2010

It's a cliché dark and stormy night in London Ontario. I'm supposed to be meeting with Matt Fox (the lead guitarist and main writer for one of the original new age hardcore punk/metal bands Shai Hulud, who headlined at the London Music Hall on Monday) but I'm having troubles finding him. After a couple of phone calls and a little confusion I finally track Matt down to the Curry Garden (an authentic Indian Cuisine diner) who just sitting down to a dinner of rice and falafel. After we get through the pleasantries and briefly discuss our shared love of sci-fi such as Frank Herbert's Dune series, A.C. Clarke, and our love of great metal bands, I notice the surrealism of interviewing Matt in a restaurant which is playing sitar and tabla over the PA while pictures of Indian deities stare at us from beneath their hung frames on the walls. Buddha was politely smiling from behind the cash register. Between bites of dinner and frantically texting to find medication for an ailing band member, Matt Fox was kind enough to answer some questions for GEM.

You frequently make references to Frank Herbert's Dune series. How does the Dune series inspire the band, if at all?

Matt: It doesn't so much anymore, but it used to a lot. I read the book when I was about 18, but I had seen the movie first and was lucky enough to have a friend fill in the gaps for me, otherwise I can see how a lot of people would get confused. I can quote every line from the movie but forget most of the book. It's funny because eventually the rest of the band members were bigger fans than I was and I'd be lost when they were talking about the series because I hadn't read the rest of the books. Eventually with our second album we sort of changed musically and our name (the reference to the sand worms) began to take on it's own meaning.

What were your influences when writing new material for your latest album "Misanthropy Pure"?



Matt: In a way our biggest influence was our previous album "That within Blood Ill- Tempered". When I began writing for that, I wanted the heaviest, most angry emotion I could possibly put into an album. I wanted people to touch the album and feel the raw anger and get goose bumps (laugh). It began that way but by the end of it there was a little more than just hatred in there, there were more emotions that came up at the time. So when we came up with the album title "Misanthropy Pure" (meaning pure hatred or disdain) it was a perfect title for the return to the 'angry space'.

Do you have a set writing process? If so, what is it that helps you be creative?

Matt: No, I don't really have a set writing process. I'm usually working on about five songs at once with bits at a time. I usually just noodle on the guitar and workout riffs, or if a good lyric hits and I think it'll fit the feel of a song I'll match it with a riff. I'll try to write it down. I don't write it down as much as I should, but I try. I'm the type of person who has to write from the heart instead of arranging a chord structure and verse/chorus kinda thing.

What challenges have you had to overcome with making "Misanthropy Pure"?

Matt: I'd say that organization was somewhat a challenge. This was the first album that we wanted to 'up the game' on the production side of things, because we thought that our last album "Blood Ill- Tempered" had a lot of guitar parts that were masking each other and didn't spend much time on production as we would have liked to. Unfortunately there was little pre-production done for "Misanthropy Pure". We had worked out about 98% of the drums and most of the guitars before we got in the studio, but it would be easier to know what we're doing for every part and how we're going to do it before we enter the studio. That's something we're striving for, for the next album.

What was your approach when entering the studio to record?

Matt: Well, we had wanted to do the drums meticulously and ended up hiring a friend of mine to come live with me while we write the parts. He stayed in my basement and played drums all day. For him it was a break from work, and with a child on the way he looked at it like a paid vacation before the baby arrived. He would come up with a good part and I would play something to that, and he'd add new ideas, it was great. I love 99% of whatever he usually comes up with. When we got in the studio, I wanted to try new things with different parts and try new ideas, the rest of the band were kind of getting annoyed with me because I wanted to revisit parts and change them slightly. They tell me that the take is done, we agreed to move on, and I had to try and tell them that I'm not changing my mind on the part, I'm having new ideas.

If you could, would there be anything you'd do differently during the recording process?

Matt: That's a hard question, because I'm most proud of this album compared to our previous ones. Hmm. I'd have to say I might've reduced our time in the studio when doing guitar and vocal doubles. I felt there were a little too many at times when the song might not have called for it. I would definitely do more pre-production before going into the studio. Probably save some money doing it that way.

Do you prefer working in the studio to playing live?

Matt: (laughs) Although I'm a creative person in the studio, I also suffer from the red light syndrome. It's weird I can get that way, but when you're playing live you can feel it out a lot more and play off other instruments. I'm more of a feeler than a thinker. Besides, nobody really hears when you screw up live and I'm more of a sloppy/organic type of player. Being that way doesn't help when you're under the microscope of the studio environment and every mistake can be heard.

On your own time, do you listen to other genres besides metal?

Matt: I do, but there have always really been only three main genres in my life: (in no particular order) hardcore, punk and metal. That's not to say I don't listen to, and enjoy other genres like soundtracks, Celtic folk, and even some jazz and blues. I'm a huge fan of Billy Joel; he's one of my favorite artists. But there's always been that deep connection with those primary genres of music. They've always been central in my life.

Do you think it's important for an artist to listen to different genres?

Matt: I wouldn't say it's very important but being able to blend your influences into a style all your own is, in my opinion, the best type of approach. I'm sure it would help though, listening to other genres more often, and then you wouldn't have to think as hard about writing.

How has the band had to adapt to survive in an ever changing music industry?

Matt: For starts, we had to start retaining band members. It just makes sense to work with people you develop a connection with instead of somebody new all the time. I couldn't do the Nashville type of writing. Other than that I can't say very much, just because we don't really change that much. We try not to follow trends in hardcore and metal because it's just too easy to do. When I heard In Flames in 2005 I knew that was how a modern metal album should sound, and I loved it, but I think we should do our own thing and develop our own sound.

You've toured in support of 3 studio albums, what's the weirdest thing that's happened to you while on the road?

Matt: Nothing too weird, I think, at least that I can remember. We've had a lot of car troubles in the past. This one time while driving on a highway, we felt our car lurch down onto one wheel and saw our tire racing us beside the car. It rolled into the other lanes and almost caused an accident. It was pretty scary at the time. One time while driving in Arizona, it was a hundred degrees and we had the heat on full blast, because the car was overheating and we needed to vent the engine. We're all sweating like pigs and Fletcher (Bass) asks for his sweater. I thought that was pretty weird at the time.

How can more people find out more about the band online?

Matt: All the usual fwitter or twitbook stuff.

Our Myspace is

www.myspace/profoundhatred.

We have a home domain which is under construction and will be online soon

www.hulud.com.

We're always checking our facebook page at

www.facebook.com/shaihuludofficial.

We highly encourage our fans to 'like' us. It’s great that we can keep track and communicate with our fans on an individual basis. It's a great tool for bands an the music business in general.

After this tour, what's next for Shai Hulud?



Matt: More writing. I'm always working on compiling more stuff for songs, and I'm usually working on about 5 songs at a time. Our next album is due out next year sometime. I can't say too much at this point, but the album title and themes will deal with the physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted person. Basically, a person at the end of their rope. It's not going to be depressive or anything, but more like an expression of anger towards having little options to choose from and lack of control over the negative things in life.

"Misanthropy Pure" was released in 2008 on Metal Blade Records.

www.metalblade.com



1. Venomspreader - 1:45
2. The Creation Ruin - 3:16
3. Misanthropy Pure - 4:28
4. We Who Finish Last - 3:08
5. Chorus of the Dissimilar - 3:34
6. In the Mind and Marrow - 4:47
7. To Bear The Brunt of Many Blades - 3:35
8. Four Earths - 5:10
9. Set Your Body Ablaze - 3:20
10. Be Winged - 2:15
11. Cold Lord Quietus/They Congregate to Mourn/The Persecution of Every Next Breath/Go Forth to Life - 6:35

Zack Brenneman Global Entertainment Mag www.zack.globalentertainmentmag.com