Jim Louvau: What was the recording process like for "Hate Me?"
Craig Mabbitt: We did 2-3 months worth of recording before entering the studio demoing
out all of the songs on our own and adding our own little bells and whistles and really
deciding which songs we really wanted so that the record was ready to be polished.
When we went in, we weren't writing on the fly so we could have more fun in the
studio or overthinking specific parts. We had like 50 songs and we narrowed it
down to about 15 and then narrowed it down to 10.
Jim Louvau: When you entered the studio, did you have vocals written at that
point, or just the music?
Craig Mabbitt: Yeah, vocals were done for the most part. A lot of stuff
got changed day of in the studio if it just sounded better, was sang
better, or I was just working with Howard. The roots of everything
were there.
Jim Louvau: Last time I spoke to you the record didn't have
a title at that point but the theme of "Hate Me" was already
prominent in what you guys were doing. Those words were
painted on your amps and you used hashtag #hateme on
social media on all your posts while in the studio. Did it
just seem natural to use that as the title?
Craig Mabbitt: Yes it did, I found that the lyric,
“hate” was in there a lot in the record. I thought it
summed it up pretty well, it's a diverse record. It
goes super heavy to super different types of
songs I thought that it sounded cohesive.
Jim Louvau: Previously, you described
this record to me as having the heaviest stuff you've done with Escape the
Fate, as well as some of the poppiest songs you've written. Do you
still feel that way about it now?
Craig Mabbitt: Yup.
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