Jason Hook Interview: His New Life in Flat Black
Jason Hook inerview: Talking Flat Black and more – Author: Anne Erickson, Photo via Fearless Records
Guitarist Jason Hook, formerly of Five Finger Death Punch, has a new, high-octane rock band in Flat Black. Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio recently sat down for a Jason Hook interview to discuss the new band, their debut album and much more.
Jason Hook Interview: Flat Black, Five Finger Death Punch, Corey Taylor and More
Hook teamed up with a handful of young, versatile musicians for Flat Black, and their first album together, “Dark Side of the Brain,” is out July 19 on Fearless.
I’ve heard the entire new album from Flat Black and can say it’s packed with solid hard rock and melodic metal. It’s very radio-friendly but not cookie-cutter in the least. Speaking with Hook about the new album in a new Audio Ink Radio interview, Hook said he was happy to hear that I liked it.
“Well, thanks. I’m so glad that you got to hear it,” he said. “I’ve been siting on this record for a while, and no one’s heard it except for you and a handful of other people, so it’s really cool to hear that you have heard the whole thing and that you like it. Putting the band together, I wanted to be patient and take my time. I’m super picky. I knew what I was looking for, and I just thought however long it takes is however long it takes.”
Slipknot and Stone Sour vocalist Corey Taylor appears on the album. He says working with Taylor was new for him, and he’s grateful for their friendship.
“I didn’t really know Corey until 2020,” Hook said. “I was in Los Angeles working with his producer, Jay Ruston, on some material, and we just started texting each other, and we hit it off right away. He’s a really great guy.”
Hook added, “He came into my life at the perfect moment, because he was like, ‘What are you up to? What are you doing?’ I was like, ‘I’m just trying to put together a band. I don’t have anyone yet. I’m just writing songs,’ and blah, blah, blah. He said, ‘Well, listen, if you don’t have anyone to write with, send me whatever you’ve got, and I’ll work with you. I’ll help you.’ I’ll never forget that. That was a really amazing gesture. At that time in my life, I was kind of lost. I’m like, what am I doing? What am I going to do? I have to build something from scratch. That can be very daunting. Then, to have somebody of his stature come along and be a friend and be cool and willing like that, it really helped me. It helped my spirit. So, for that, I’m forever grateful.”
Hook also talked about his relationship with his former band, Five Finger Death Punch. When asked if he keeps in touch with any of the guys or if they might tour with his new band, he said, “I have the occasional text message with Ivan (Moody, lead vocalist). He’s kind of the only one I really communicate with. And, gigging with them, that would be up to them. My guess is they probably wouldn’t do that. But, you never know. Whatever… I don’t know where their heads are at. I’ve just been completely disconnected from the whole thing since 2020.”
Watch my full Jason Hook interview via the YouTube player above. Listen to the Jason Hook interview via the Audio Ink Radio podcast on Apple Podcasts here and Spotify here. For more rock and metal interviews like the Jason Hook interview, head to our features page.
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