METAL PULP AND PAPER: Hello Hyro. So glad to be catching up with you. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us here at Metal Pulp And Paper. We appreciate it.
How are you doing?
HYRO THE HERO: I’m doing great. So excited about what the future holds.
MPAP: 2018 was a very busy and productive year for you. Are you ready to take on 2019?
HYRO: Hell Yea! I’ve got festivals lined up. Working on getting a huge tour. My time has come and I’m ready to rock.
MPAP: That's great. Now let’s introduce you to everyone that might not have heard of you just yet. Hyro The Hero is a rap, gangsta rock band, that has some hip hop thrown into it that hail from Los Angeles, California. And back in June of 2018, you released your sophomore album titled Flagged Channel via the RED Music/Sony label. Both the album and its first single, "Bullet," both received some great reviews. For those reading this, and haven’t bought it yet, it is a definite must get and listen to right away record. What else do you want everyone to know about Hyro the Hero before we go any further?
HYRO: I would love them to know my history of rocking. I’ve been in this for over 10 years killing stages across the world. Flagged Channel is all of my experience combined. It’s an album I believe gives the full picture of who Hyro The Hero is and is going to be. I want people to know that I don’t make music just to make music. Every song has a powerful message that inspires and motivates. I don’t put the pen to the paper unless I will send a message or have a subject other than material possessions.
MPAP: Now that the dust has settled, and Flagged Channel has been out for over six months now, what are your final thoughts on it? Is it everything you wanted to get out there through your voice, though the mic?
HYRO: I believe so. I’ve got so much to say. I will always have material. Material that can motivate the masses. That’s what I’m all about. But at this moment in my life and career Flagged Channel sums up my hard work and dedication to get to where I’m at today. I took a brief hiatus to learn and better my craft and I believe you hear that when listening to Flagged Channel.
MPAP: It of course got some great reviews. Was that somewhat of a relief for you since it had been seven years since your 2011 debut, Birth, School, Work, Death came out?
HYRO: Hell yea. Such a relief. And this time it’s out in a way I am very proud of. I've been planning and visualizing all of this. Speaking it to existence and it is finally happening.
MPAP: Is there anything that you might have done different, or something that you have learned from Flagged Channel that you might take with you into the studio the next time?
HYRO: Not at all. I try not to think too deep into it because I’d go crazy. I’m happy with it and will bring the same energy x10 to the next one.
MPAP: On one of the songs, "Devil In Disguise," it features Munky, guitarist for the band Korn. In a recent interview you did with Scream Queen, you said about Munky playing on the song, 'he came through and killed it! That right there, to have a legend like that on that track, that just makes it even more epic.' With that being said, who else would you like to collaborate with on maybe your next release? Whose shoulder would you love to tap on and either have them play on it, or perhaps even share the mic with you?
HYRO: Chino Moreno. I gotta get something with him soon. It will be amazing. When I moved out to LA I met him and I learned so much about performing and attacking tracks. That would be epic.
MPAP: On your Facebook 'About' section, it reads, 'Let’s bring REAL music back.' What is real music to you? And what do you think needs to be brought back?
HYRO: I probably need to change that lol. I put that there during the ringtone rap era. It fit at the time. We are in a new phase of music now and there are so many dope artists that are bringing real music back. It’s just a struggle to get heard when you make meaningful music.
MPAP: Saying that, do you think something missing in the music world right now?
HYRO: If anything, … I’ll say emotion, specifically in rap. The greats like Tupac And Eminem rapped in a way that you can feel how they felt. You pictured it. Now it’s all about melody and rhythm, whatever sounds cool. I’d love to see more emotion in the way rappers’ spit. There are genres like emo rap and stuff now, but I want to be able to feel the pain when you speak about certain subjects. I try to convey emotion on my tracks, so you get the full picture of the song.
MPAP: Moving forward, when will you start working on new music? Hopefully, there won’t be another seven-year hiatus between Flagged Channel and the next one? Do you have an idea of when you might start writing something?
HYRO: I’ve been writing. Got some killer new tracks with some huge names. Just gotta keep it quiet for now though. Shhhhhhhh!
MPAP: Do you have any ideas or visions that you’d like to explore, experiment with for the new songs once you start to work on them?
HYRO: I watched Bohemian Rhapsody and it inspired me to make more anthemic music. Something for an arena. That’s the mindset I have going in now.
MPAP: Recently you attended Headbangers Con that was held in Portland, Oregon this past November. It was a massive convention with various musicians from all over, artists, designers, and lots more. It, of course, had lots of metalhead fans there as well. How was that whole experience?
HYRO: Insane. People showed so much love and it’s such a creative idea to do something like that. I was just so glad to be a part of it.
MPAP: You even performed the Friday night along with Silent Theory and the headliner Soil before the con to a vast crowd at the Bossanova Ballroom where the red-carpet festivities were being held. Watching you play live, you brutally give 110% of energy to all of your fans don't you?
HYRO: Always give it all. It’s my music if I look like I’m not feeling it then the audience won’t. I want people to feel how much I love and appreciate the music I make.
MPAP: I’ve recently interviewed David Ellefson from Megadeth, and Ron Keel from Keel, who were also both there, and I asked them both what some of their favorite moments during the Headbangers Con weekend were. I’d like to hear some of yours?
HYRO: My fav had to be performing. That was insane. Also meeting all the other influential artists in the building. Couldn’t ask for more.
MPAP: And, who was there that you were stoked to meet that you hadn’t met before?
HYRO: Brian from Shadows Fall, Morgan from Sevendust. So many. Can’t wait to see them again and kick it.
MPAP: Before we bring this interview to a close, just a couple more questions. This was taken from a recent headline, and I thought it might be interesting to ask someone, and you happen to be the first one around to ask. The headline is: 'Robbie Williams wins pool planning victory over Jimmy Page.' I guess Robbie Williams is an English singer-songwriter and was once in a group called Take That, and of course, Jimmy Page is the guitarist and founding member of the heavy metal group Led Zeppelin. I guess the two have been battling it out for five years or so now because Jimmy didn’t want Robbie building an underground pool close to his house in fear it might do some damage to his mansion that was built in 1781. Long story short, at some point during all this, outside his home, Robbie began blasting Black Sabbath, and various other bands, knowing it would upset the Led Zeppelin star when he heard it. So, my question to you is, if you had a neighbor that was causing you some problems; what band would you blast out loud to piss that neighbor off?
HYRO: Haha great question. I think I’d Blast King 810. The song "Alpha Omega" would scare the shit out of them.
MPAP: Ummm, If I lived next to you, I definitely wouldn't want to piss you off as a neighbor!
Now as we bring this interview to a close, what’s next in the cross-hairs for you?
HYRO: Festivals and Touring.
MPAP: Festivals and touring, it can't get much better than that! And I see February 22nd you’re opening for Nothing More in Los Angeles. And then you head off to North Carolina to perform at the Epicenter Festival at the beginning of May that has some substantial heavy hitters on the bill for the three-day event that includes Korn, Rob Zombie, Tool, Judas Priest, and Foo Fighters. Is there anything else going on during the rest of 2019 that you can mention here?
HYRO: I’m on Rockville, Rocklahoma, Epicenter, and Rockfest. Can’t announce tours yet but it shall be epic.
MPAP: Looks like you are goingto be keeping yourself busy then. On behalf of myself, and Metal Pulp And Paper, I’d like to thank you, Hyro, for doing this interview. We look forward to what you do to finish out 2019 and beyond. Do you have anything else to say before we bring this to a close?
HYRO: Thank you again!
HYRO THE HERO/ February 12th, 2019/ Interview #138
