Emerging from Alberta in 2013, Hazzerd is a cutthroat four-piece Canadian thrash metal band. Their musical journey began with the launch of their inaugural EP, titled "Victimize the Innocent," in 2014. The release set the stage for their ascent in the metal scene. In August 2017, the band unveiled their highly anticipated debut album, "Misleading Evil," further solidifying their presence with a collection of intense and captivating tracks. Building upon their early success, Hazzerd continued their onslaught with the release of "Delirium" in 2020, showcasing their evolution and further establishing their position as a force to be reckoned with.
I had an in depth and detailed interview with Hazzerd about the state of Thrash metal, their influences, and their upcoming third album.
Hey guys, first and foremost, congratulations on reaching the milestone of 10 years since the band's formation. We'd love to hear your reflections on the past decade. How does it feel for you when you look back at everything you've accomplished?
Thank you! It’s been one hell of a ride but it feels great to still be here in some capacity. We’ve hit a few bump in the roads over the last few years with the pandemic and all that stuff but overall putting out 2 well received thrash albums has been a dream of ours since we were youngins especially having Dave Mustaine himself play our music on his radio station. When that happened we honestly couldn’t believe it. We still can’t to this day. It’s crazy. Next is going on tour with him!
We'd love to hear about your thrash metal inspirations since the genre's inception in the 80s. In addition to the well-known bands often associated with the genre (i.e. the Big Four), who are some of the lesser-known idols that have influenced you along the way?
A few that come to mind are Mortal Sin, Evildead, Toxic, Heathen, Death Angel, Destruction, DRI, and Sepultura.
I'd like to invite each of you to share your personal favorite thrash metal album, the one that you can never get enough of, that captivates you from start to finish.
Dylan: Rust In Peace by Megadeth
Tory: Twisted Into Form by Forbidden
Dave: Ride The Lightning by Metallica
Brendan: Deathroll by Tyranex
In your perspective, could you elaborate on the evolution of thrash metal throughout its history? How do you believe the genre has transformed and developed over time, both musically and culturally?
Good question. Honestly the evolution of thrash has gotten (in our opinion) much heavier, darker, and even faster in some instances. We really pull our influences from the thrash of the 1980s when it was a little less intense in terms of vocals and even overall production, which is a major reason our 2nd album Delirium sounds the way it does. We really wanted that 1980s garage sounding thrash and I think we succeeded on that front. However, with the new album it definitely leans more towards the modern day thrash sound with it being a little more to the point, a little less venturous in the structure of the songs and most importantly FASTER!
How do you perceive the evolution of thrash metal, considering the mourning by a significant portion of fans who believe that the genre's golden era in the 80s is unmatched? In contrast, I believe and argue that thrash metal is alive and thriving with amazing bands today, such as Havok, Hatchet, and Hazzerd (what I personally call the 3 Hs), who bring in evolutionary gains coupled with even more hunger and anger to the genre. How do you draw parallels and identify differences between these modern bands (the 3 Hs) and the pioneering acts of the past?
Honestly I think the lyrical approach to each of the H bands (including ourselves) is vastly different. I think that’s what separates each band the most, however all 3 have similar musical styles/outputs. I would consider Havok to be more along the lines of deathy thrash ever since their V album released and definitely fall in lines with modern day thrash. Hatchet would be more so of a 2000’s sounding thrash, where they still had that 80s sound but with something that really launched them into the category of newer thrash. Hazzerd follows the blueprint of the 1980s thrash through and through, that’s something we know we’ve had since inception and I feel like that’s why people really dig us. And in terms of lyrics, Havok leans towards political and all that stuff. Hatchet really deals with death, and afterlife (or so how I’ve interpreted them). While Hazzerd focuses on mental instability, war, disease and new world orders.
Are there any unconventional or non-musical sources of inspiration that have influenced your music?
Absolutely! Movies, games, books and real life events influence us to create music, or so a soundtrack to what we in-vision in that moment in time, if that makes any sense. This new album's lyrical direction is very fresh and cool in our opinions and we’re excited for people to decipher them!
Dylan, I have a challenging question for you. First and foremost, I want to commend you on your exceptional skills as both a vocalist and a drummer. Your contributions are undoubtedly crucial in channeling immense energy and euphoria from the crowd. While recording in the studio allows for separate track production, I'm curious about your thoughts on the limitations of having a vocalist who is also the drummer during live shows. Do you believe this setup poses any challenges or restrictions?
Thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate it.
No, not in the slightest. This has been a question asked since the inception of the band back in 2013. Or more so when I took over lead vocals. The setup we have on stage is unique, and tends to have the crowd more engaged and focused on what is going on up on stage. I bring as much energy and charisma as possible while playing live and interact with the crowd just as much if not more than a traditional front man would. The common thing I hear after a show from fans is that they weren’t sure how it would work out with me being behind the kit and singing but by the end of the set they were pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed our set.
It's evident that your music is incredibly solid, as demonstrated by your EP and the two full albums you have released, which I have on heavy rotation. With that in mind, do you believe that embarking on several tours is essential for building a dedicated fanbase? If so, could you share your plans for potential tours in the US or even in Europe?
I believe touring really helps get more fans and build a stronger base overall. There’s nothing quite like gaining a new fan from playing a killer show in an unfamiliar city. We have no plans to tour as of yet as we are figuring out a plethora of things going on behind the scenes and as well as finishing up the new album.
Through conversations with various bands, it has become evident that touring can pose significant financial challenges for up-and-coming bands. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this matter. In your opinion, what are some changes or improvements that you would love to see in the industry to enable bands to embark on more tours without facing excessive financial burdens?
Touring is ridiculously expensive and in many ways very stressful. I think one way that could ease bands stress with touring would be to have the labels help out again with financial burden like they did back in the day but unfortunately it’s different times and for smaller bands it becomes increasingly difficult to setup a tour because of the major cost of everything, especially after the pandemic with all this inflation.
I understand that you're currently working on your third album. Can you provide any insights on the anticipated timeline for its release?
I can tell you that we are 96% done the album and that it’s release really depends on when we turn it into M-Theory (our record label) as many factors go into releasing an album and that several months of PR is needed before it’s release. If I had to put a tentative timeline on release it would be anywhere from October 2023 - January 2024.
As a huge fan of "Misleading Evil" and "Delirium," I'm eager to know what we can expect from your upcoming album. Will it follow in the footsteps of your previous work, representing a continuation of your established style and sound? Can we anticipate a natural progression in your musical journey? Or should we prepare ourselves for a departure from the sound and approach showcased in your previous two albums?
This new album takes influence from all of our releases, it is more so a continuation of what we have done, however the new batch of songs are much more to the point, less fat on the tracks, more intense, faster, and more interesting. I would say that this album is a natural progression of our sound and in some ways has become more intense and a lil more aggressive for this release. However you will still find our “Hazzerd” esq songs/sections on this new one.
Do you already have a name for your upcoming album, or is it still not ready for a reveal at this stage?
Yes, we do have a name for the new album. However we aren’t revealing anything until our first single is ready for release!
In your first two albums, you treated us to two extraordinary instrumental tracks, namely "Misleading Evil" and "Call of the Void." Can we anticipate a comparable experience with instrumental songs in your upcoming third album?
Yes! And we can’t wait for you all to hear the new instrumental. We think it is our best one yet!
Visuals and imagery play a significant role in metal records. I'm curious to know who illustrated the artwork on your first two albums and whether you have decided on an artist for the artwork of your upcoming third album.
His name is Andrei Bouzikov. We’ve had the pleasure of working with him since 2017 when he did our debut Misleading Evil, and he did Delirium as well. I can confirm he’s done the artwork for our new one too. Which we can’t wait to show everyone!
Lastly, anything you would like to share with your fans?
Thank you for being so patient with us over the last few years. It has been a struggle during the pandemic and many unfortunate things have happened in the background but we finally are starting to get the wheels rolling again and we know for a fact that when we come back with this new album, it will be business as usual and we can release these new tracks of thrash onto the world.
Thank you for taking the time to interview us. It’s been a pleasure!
Hazzerd is made up of Dylan Westendorp on drums and vocals, Brendan Malycky on guitar, Toryin Schadlich on guitar, and David Sprague on bass guitar.
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