Denver-based post-hardcore band FAtHERS spike their sound with punk and metal elements, while their direct lyrics speak of the troubles that plague current-day humanity. Their latest album, You Deserve Hell, was recently unleashed via Sailor Records. The LP follows up their debut album that released in 2017.
Often favorably compared to hardcore heavyweights like Cave In, Converge, and Big Business, FAtHERS (Oscar Ross (vocals), Eddie Maestas and Zach Amster (guitar), Mhyk Monroe (bass), and Ryan DeWitt (drums), and Gil Romero (multimedia)) have been on the road this past year, playing music fests like Dever’s Electric Funeral Fest, going on a West Coast tour, and supporting acts like Eyehategod, Sworn Enemy, and Cro-Mags.
Frontman Oscar Ross takes some time out of his schedule to respond to our on-going Protest Interview series, explaining that the band’s songs are grounded in real experiences that pertain to the struggles of life.
Hello! Please introduce yourself/yourselves and give a description of your sound/musical vision.
My name is Oscar Ross and I sing in FAtHERS. We are a heavy, loud band from Denver, CO and our new album You Deserve Hell is our second full length release. Descriptors for our band would include post-hardcore, punk, and a splash of metal. I'm honestly not sure who we sound like.
What is/are the main personal, national, and/or international issue(s) concerning you the most these days?
Wow that's a loaded question! The internet has given us so much information and exposure of an underlying toxicity in our world. We're not a protest band, but our songs are about real events and how they could turn so tragic. I try to explore the mental and spiritual sides of people, races, religions... and why they make the decisions they make.
What song, video, or lyrics quote of yours best represents your current viewpoint on this/these important topic(s)?
I'm not going to reveal all of our secrets, but each song is about an actual event, book, or person we have explored. “Sunday” is about the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church massacre in 2017. It's the kind of church and community I was raised in in New Mexico. So it brings in my questions about religion and how a beautiful loving community could be completely destroyed by one individual.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutherland_Springs_church_shooting
My favorite video from You Deserve Hell is for our first track, “O'Malley.” Unfortunately, most of us have lost someone to suicide.
What other forms of protest, besides through your music, are you involved with to get your message across?
We support many groups in Denver, and Mhyk, our bass player, is very involved. I prefer to think of us as an awareness band – “This is fucked up and needs help. How do we support each other and come together as a community so that everyone has equal support?”; “What caused this and how can we prevent it from happening again?” So, mental health is a big part of my life/job. And honestly, stress is not talked about enough and is definitely a factor in deteriorating each of our lives. What impact does this have? What can you do for yourself to change that?
As you just mentioned, we need to work on ourselves and together for a better world. Objecting to and protesting against, but then working on a solution to the problem is critical in ensuring that positive change occurs. Name an action to take, or a campaign/charity that would be worthwhile to contribute to, for your cause.
One of our assets is the very diverse backgrounds they we all come from and how we're able to relate to and support each other through the tough times. We truly care for each other. So I can only speak for myself, and personally I would recommend getting off the internet, putting your phone down more, delete your Facebook account, and interact more with people around you. Keyboard warriors are needed, but we're missing a more personal side of life.
What gives you hope for the future?
It's currently a pretty sad state of affairs and humans can be disgusting. But we all have the same basic desires to be loved, respected, and safe. And I'm hopeful that those desires will prevail over all the sadness.
Where can we purchase/stream your music and find out more about you?
https://fathersbandco.bandcamp.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Dq5ERGNLdi1qp10Sjiu8k?si=mFoR_isKQgCw7haVaMhBRw
https://www.facebook.com/fathersband303/
