Interview: Flat Black release debut full length album, ready for Fall tour

Written By Neil Shumate, OOTB Publications

Forming under ex-Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Jason Hook, metal band Flat Black has exceeded expectations with the four member’s motivation and determination. Since forming after the 2020 pandemic, the band hasn’t slowed down; they’ve been on the road touring and in July they released their debut album Dark Side Of The Brain (Fearless Records), produced by Hook and Chris Collier (Korn).

Between some headlining tour dates and preparing for upcoming shows supporting Godsmack and Nothing More this Fall, lead vocalist Wrex Horton discussed the band’s full length debut, tour life, band chemistry, latest music video, goals and much more in this OOTB interview.

Watch Latest Video: “A Bit Of Lightening”

What songs stand out to you the most as your favorite tracks on Dark Side Of The Brain? Why those songs?

It's a tie between “It’s Ok To Be Angry” for the subdued intro into the heavy slamming verse and “Home,” for the emotion it evokes; few songs make me sad like that one, in a good way!

The video for “A Bit Of Lightning” focuses on homelessness. What influenced your decision to draw attention to this issue?

We wanted to highlight how many people are struggling out there right now, life is harder than it has ever been for most people today.

The influence came from our lives as musicians screeching to a halt from the pandemic. I certainly had moments thinking, "Man, am I ever going to tour again? Did I just lose my job forever for reasons out of my control?" I think average people in this country have those thoughts every day. We wanted to let them all know that we see you, we feel for you, and we have been there.

Has there been a lot of pressure from fans that have high expectations of Flat Black because of Jason Hook’s success from Five Finger Death Punch?

Surprisingly, not really! I'm shocked at how the feedback has been almost exclusively positive. Fans seem to be able to disconnect this project from that previous one and we are happy about that. It's something completely different.

Seeing you guys live is an exceptional experience. It’s heavy, it’s energetic, it’s all the things you’d expect from a headlining performance. What do you think makes the band’s chemistry so solid?

Oh thank you. To me it comes down to the fact that we actually like each other. Believe it or not, this is a rare thing with bands.

As we pulled the band together it was a priority for Jason that everyone was well-adjusted and relatively normal, for lack of a better term. We are all friends—we spend time together, we eat all our meals together, we get along!

Aside from that, we are all pretty seasoned performers—lots of experience under our belts and we all practice a ton. Practicing helps immensely and I think lots of musicians think they don't need to practice once you hit the arena stage.

With the October tour coming up, what’s your favorite part about touring and your least favorite part?

I can't say I have a least favorite part! A lot of friends I have in the industry say they struggle with getting enough sleep on the bus, but for me, I'm like a baby being rocked to sleep on that thing. I pass right out and sleep great 90 percent of the time.

My favorite part is getting to see what an impact the music has on these fans that make the choice to give us their one day off maybe in a month, maybe for months, to see us play. Especially meet and greets. It's cool to see how impactful it is for them. It's the same for me, those are the moments I cherish the most.

What’s the biggest goal for Flat Black at this point?

We want to see the entire world and bring our music to as many fans as possible. I want to go to Japan so bad, but right now I think Europe is our primary goal.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has checked out our record Dark Side Of The Brain! Hope to see you on tour in the US with Godsmack and Nothing More!

DARK SIDE OF THE BRAIN TRACK LISTING
"IT'S OK TO BE ANGRY"
"JUSTICE WILL BE DONE"
"SIDEWAYS"
"A BIT OF LIGHTNING"   Xxxxxxx
"UNWANTED"
"HOME"
"HALO"
"IT'S YOUR LACK OF RESPECT"
"NOTHING TO SOME (FEATURING COREY TAYLOR)"
"DARK SIDE OF THE BRAIN"
"VILLAIN"
"YOUTH N EYES"
"TIDAL WAVE"
"LET IT GO"