Vocalist Zach Hatfield said it best: 2016 is shaping up to be a wild year for West Virginia hardcore band, Left Behind. Only four months into the year, and the band has already released their new album, Seeing Hell and finished up a string of tour dates with Orthodox, Lowered AD and Incited, with even more dates lined up this spring and summer in support of the new album. Left Behind are keeping busy, and you don’t want to sleep on them! Read the full interview with Hatfield below.
Interview by Dom Vigil
Can you tell us a little bit about Left Behind for any readers who may not be familiar?
For sure, Left Behind is a metal band based out of West Virginia. We’ve been a band for three years and have been touring the majority of that time.
You just celebrated the release of your new album, Seeing Hell. How does it feel to finally have it out for everyone to hear?
Feels great, we’ve been sitting on this album for a year. We recorded it last April with Andy Nelson from Bricktop Studios in Chicago, IL. It’s great to finally be able to show everyone what we’ve put this work into.
What does Seeing Hell mean to you?
Seeing Hell is seeing the worst within yourself. All of the bad and everything you’re ashamed of and not allowing that to control you.
Did you have any goals while writing and recording Seeing Hell?
We wanted to write something that mixed all of our musical influences together and be something that would stand the test of time. We did not want an album that we would just be proud of for a year and have people forget about after that.
What would you like listeners to be able to take away from the album?
We want people to feel the same things we felt while writing the album, we want their experience while listening to Seeing Hell to not be comparable to anything else out there.
You guys just finished up some tour dates with Orthodox, Lowered AD and Incited – what was the highlight of tour?
I’d say the last date was the highlight, it was our CD release show in Louisville, KY which is basically our second hometown. It was a really wild night and the other bands on our package agreed it was probably the best night of tour.
You’re not wasting any time hopping right back on the road either, with your summer tour in support of the album kicking off in May. What are you most excited for on your upcoming tour dates?
I’d say probably our Philly PA, Ringgold GA, Louisville KY and Cudahy WI dates. All of those cities have been incredible in the past and made us feel at home despite being a good lengths drive away.
If someone is just seeing Left Behind live for the first time at any of your upcoming shows, what would you want them to walk away thinking or feeling?
I want them to feel like they’d just seen something that they have a hard time describing. That the only way they can put it is as seeing Left Behind and not being able to compare it to anything else.
With Seeing Hell out now, do you have any other big plans for the rest of 2016?
We’re planning on touring the country a lot more this late Summer, Fall and Winter after the Seeing Hell tour. We’re also planning to start writing and working on the next release and just seeing what comes our way.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Seeing Hell is out through Unbeaten Records. If you’re into the album, come out to one of our tour dates and see us play it live. 2016 is shaping into a wild year for Left Behind. Thank you for having us.
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