Evan Seinfeld is the former lead singer/bassist of the legendary NY hardcore band Biohazard. Seinfeld left the group in 2011 and joined the hard rock/metal group Attika 7. The group released its first LP titled “Blood of My Enemies” in mid June of this year and Media Mikes had the chance recently to talk with Evan about the group and their new album.
Adam Lawton: What was it that interested you in joining a new band?
Evan Seinfeld: I am the kind person that thrives on change and new energy. I started Biohazard when I was still a teenager. We played 4,000 concerts over 25 years. I put a lot of energy and time into the last Biohazard album but in the end I have to do what’s best for me. I had to be able to grow as a musician and to be inspired. I always put my creativity first and money second. I could have just gone on doing the same thing and faded off in to the sunset. When I first heard the material my friend Rusty Coones had written while he was in prison it gave me chills. I live for those moments. When I am singing these new songs it takes me back to being 17 again. This time around I know what I want to do and I don’t have to waste any time with things I am not interested in. We only have a certain amount of time on this planet and I plan to live mine to the very fullest.
AL: How did you get involved with the band?
ES: I have lived by our guitarist Rusty Coones for some time now. I had first met him though Jesse James and after that we were always hanging out and riding motorcycles together. One day we were talking and he had told me that they had just let their singer go and that they had a gig coming up. Rusty asked me if I would fill in and I said sure. He sent me the tracks and even though we hadn’t played together before I liked the music. At that point I had never really listened to the lyrics but after really listening to them I became very inspired. Rusty had never thought I would be available and that I was just filling in for this one show. The music just spoke to me and I felt like this is what I should be doing.
AL: How would you describe your work on the new album?
ES: I feel really great about this record and am walking with pep in my step. A lot of the credit I have to give to our producer MudRock. I have worked with a lot of great producers in my career but MudRock really helped me to find my voice. I am now able to sing harder and with more range than I was ever able to in the past. He did something in the studio that just brought the best out of me. I really enjoyed the process. This album is both heavy and melodic while remaining crystal clear. We went in to the studio and played the album front to back live which was great. A lot of the material we
recorded was already written prior to me coming in but there were some songs that still needed a little work. A majority of the material was written so perfectly that it didn’t need anything else. We however did write some songs from scratch. Rusty had wanted to put this band together for a long time and played with a bunch of different people. When he and I started we just clicked. We dove in to that material and just dissected it in order to get the best possible result from each song. I like working like that and I really like being in the band. I am honored to sing songs that are so deep.
AL: How would you categorize the sound of this album?
ES: Everyone one loves to relate sounds to other bands as it’s an easy way to do things. Attika 7 is clearly derived from classic metal. You can hear our influences in the songs. I think it will definitely appeal to people who like old school Pantera up to fans of Godsmack. When I listen to the album I can hear a lot of my own influences like Black Sabbath and Type O Negative mixed with some melodic hard rock. I hear every little thing in this album. There are moments when we really lock in as a band and we don’t sound like anyone or anything else. Those are the moments that I am most proud of. The inspiration for this record comes from a very dark place and in the end the message is one of hope and redemption. When all the shit goes down you find out who you are and who your friends are. To be able to look in the mirror and know who you are and what you are made of is a great thing.
AL: What are going to be the tour plans for this album?
ES: There is a lot of talk and buzz right now about what we may be doing however, nothing has been confirmed. This is a new band so people are going to wait to see just how good we are live before making any decisions. A lot of times people have expectations or thoughts about how this project sounds like something else that me or one of the other guys in the band have done before. It has been really important to us that this band have a very heavy and true live sound. We also wanted the band to be really tight and have since made line-up changes to help us get to that point. Everything is completely wide open right now. It’s been a humbling process to start over. It’s awesome in a way because it alleviates any pressure or expectations I have on myself where I maybe played a venue back in the 90’s to X amount of people and this time there are only this amount of people. I am stoked if 20 or 20,000 people show up. As long as they are in to the music that’s all I care about. I am really excited to go to some new places and turn new people on to our sound.
AL: Are you planning to do anymore acting?
ES: Rusty and I both have a bunch of reality television type stuff in the works. Some of the things will be together while other are going to be separate. In terms of acting that is something I love to do. The thing that I don’t enjoy is going to auditions. Those can be disappointing because I am very hungry and love doing what I am doing so you go to those things and you may end up not getting the part. You then see who was cast instead and know you could have done better or been more real. That was kind of the situation when I auditioned for “Sons of Anarchy”. I really wanted that part and knew I could sink my teeth into it but they ended up casting a few guys who don’t even ride. I would enjoy the challenge of acting again but there are a lot of people out there that watch television and think it’s real. They often forget that actors are playing a character. You can’t tell me Anthony Hopkins walks around as Hannibal Lector. That’s just crazy to think. If I was to do more I don’t think I would want another role that would make people think I am something that I am not.