Hatebreed are Thrown to the Lions

"I will miss the neck, but we have a big year ahead of us, with so many huge things going on," Hatebreed vocalist Jamey Jasta jokingly told Noisecreep. He's referring to thick-necked guitarist Sean Martin, who recently exited the band. The burly Martin was a staple of the band's lineup and his bulging neck always appeared chokeproof, hence us referring to him as such! Martin exited the band on the best of terms, and was replaced by original guitarist Wayne Lozniak. "Wayne has been working for the band for four years and he was our original guitar player, so it was a seamless transition," Jasta explained.

The Connecticut hardcore institution will release the 19-track 'For the Lions', an all-covers record via Koch/E1 on May 5, in advance of a new release planned for October on an as-yet to be determined label. "Even the haters are giving us respect on the covers," Jasta laughed. "I was even blown away by the recreations of these songs." Hatebreed selected fitting bands –Slayer, Bad Brains, Sick of it All, Sepultura, Madball - to interpret, but rather than re-imagine predictable hits, they chose deeper cuts. "It's a good way to tide over our fans who have been waiting for a new album and a good way to get Wayne back in the fold and get people talking about us again," Jasta said about the band's methodology.

Jasta copped to Hatebreed's rendition of Suicidal Tendencies' 'Suicidal Maniac' being his favorite of the covers... for now! "That song was a vocal challenge for me," he admitted. "Mike Muir has a higher, more singy voice. Suicidal is an OG band who have older fans who don't wanna hear a more recent hardcore crossover band like Hatebreed butcher their favorite band's classic song, but we feel we did it justice." Additionally, the band covered the Misfits' 'Hatebreeders,' which makes complete, total and obvious sense! 'That came out hard," Jasta said. "It sounds like a hard ass Oi! track!"