Interview: Hammer Fight

With their high octane new album Profound And Profane out now, we caught up with Hammer Fight vocalist/bassist Drew Murphy to hear all about it as well as some tales from the road.

Your furious new album Profound And Profane is out now, what can you tell us about it?
Well, we’re very proud of it. Making is was a great experience. It’s a good mix of all things metal pretty much. It’s got thrash, hardcore and good old rock n Roll.

What made you pick the albums title?
Deciding on a title took us a while. But this seemed pretty relevant to the overall theme of the album, which is pretty much how crazy the current state of affairs are in the world.

This is your second full length album, does it differ much in sound from your debut album Chug Of War?
It’s similar. It definitely shows growth as a band. Our song writing has really improved, and we have a new guitar player in Dan Higgins this time. He really shreds. He’s also an asshole. Haha! The production on this one is definitely better. We couldn’t be happier with how it came out.

How would you describe the Hammer Fight sound to someone who has never heard you before?
It’s kinda like Motorhead with more thrash and guitar harmonies. I guess that accurate to a point. There’s definitely more going on, but I get asked that a lot by people who aren’t familiar with the band. So I try to keep the answer simple.

Can you tell us a bit about the artwork for the album?
The front cover was done by Raff the Might. We love what he did. It really captures the theme of the album. There’s even more awesome art inside the package by Mark Richards and the Living Corpse Crew. I recommend everyone checks it out.

The album has a lot of huge riffs on it that seem to be influenced by Southern rock, was that what you were listening to when you were listening to the album?, and if so what artists and albums were you listening to?
No, I wasn’t listening to any southern rock at the time. But I do like a lot of that stuff. Lynard Skynard has some of the best guitar work ever.

As with your previous releases, the lyrics on Profound And Profane seem to be about celebrating the good things and excesses in life. Would
you say that’s the case?
To a point. Not so much as the previous album, but it’s still there. There’s no “party” songs in this album, but there is a theme of making the best of life regardless of how shitty things around you may be. We’re all gonna be dead someday, so you gotta make life count.

West Side Story has to be my favourite song on the album. What is that song about?
That song was written by our guitarist, and all around bad person, Todd Stern. It’s about a band we’re real close with called Psychosomatic and our love for each other while trying to live the metal life. They’re from California, on the west coast. Hence the title.

What are some of the other songs on the album about?
There’s a few about sex and the victories and losses while pursuing sex (Target Acquired, Low & Broken, The Ultimate Sacrifice). Real life tales of a dying relationship (Cell Mates), our disgust with the culture of celebrity worship and anti-intalectualism. There’s an instrumental too. I really like that one. We’re talking about making a lyric video for it!

You are fans of hellraising and debauchery. What is the wildest night out you have ever done or the wildest gig you have ever done?
That’s tough to say. And I certainly can’t tell any of the best stories in a public forum. As far as wildest gig, it’s hard to pick one, but Juarez, Mexico was pretty nuts. That town has a pretty bad reputation for being a violent place, but the people we met there were incredible. We would love to go back.

Who are some of your favourite hellraisers of all time?
Pinhead. And the Bush Wackers. And Lemmy.

You have done a video for the song Good Times In Dark Ages. What is the premise for the video?
Our director, E.B. Hughes, said he was inspired by a scene from A Clockwork Orange. But this time the character is forced to watch horrible things from mostly modern times.

How did your recent show with Crowbar go?
It was great. We’ve friends with those guys and Full Blown Chaos (who also played) for a few years now, so it was great to hang out with a bunch of friends we don’t get to see that often. Plus the crowd at a Crowbar show is always fantastic.

What are your touring plans for the rest of the year?
We’re planning to tour the U.S. then hopefully Europe. We’re working on it right now.

What song of yours do you most enjoy playing live?
They’re all fun. “Get Wrecked” has been a staple in our set since day one. It always seems to really get the crowd going.

And what song gets the best reaction from the crowd?
Most them go over very well. There’s been times on the road when we’ve adjusted the set based on crowd response. But like I said before, “Get Wrecked” is always a crowd pleaser. People really seem to enjoy chanting the word “DRINK”.

What has been the most memorable show or tour that the band has ever done?
All the tours are pretty memorable. We did a tour last spring where we ended up adopting a stray dog for a few days. It might be more accurate to say he made us take him with us. He was an awesome dog. We wanted to name him Little Ryan Blackman after our old guitarist because all he did was sleep. But the other bands on the tour called him Barf. That one seemed to stick. We found him a good home in Austin, Texas.

Who are some of Hammer Fights influences?
Metallica, Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Zeke, Slayer, and lots of hardcore and death metal. This list could go on forever, but I’ll leave it at that for now.

What is the heavy music scene like in your native New Jersey these days?
It varies. Some areas are great some are hit and miss. There’s a bunch of good bands around here though.

Are there any good new bands you could recommend to us?
I dunno. I’m pretty out of the loop on what’s really “new”. Black Fast is cool. That Manowar band seems pretty promising too. I think they have a real future.

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