THE SLAYLIST
From bruising hardcore to country and rap, these songs have shaped Dying Wish’s firebrand vocalist
“I HEARD THE band HAVE HEART, and it was a defining moment for me. The song Bostons inspired our song Fragments Of ABetter Memory –especially the bridge and the hook into the end breakdown, and the ‘I despise the drinking father’ aspect [Bostons features the lyric, ‘just a broken old man broken by the whiskey’]. When I was a kid, that song resonated with me because of what I was going through [with my alcoholic stepfather].
“I love Rock Steady by NO DOUBT! I’ve listened to No Doubt since I was seven –my mom was a huge indie rock kid. When we drove to my grandparents’ house three hours away, Rock Steady was one of the CDs we would have on repeat. It was the first time I’d ever heard awoman in a rock band, and Gwen Stefani is such an icon.
“KILLSWITCH ENGAGE’s Rose Of Sharyn is kind of a memoir, and it was pretty unique for bands at that time to write the way they did about the topic of grief, Howard Jones singing his heart out the way he did. The first time I ever heard them, I was 13, and it was on Guitar Hero III, but I didn’t properly appreciate them until six or seven years ago.
“I had this roommate when I was 18 or 19; she disappeared completely, left half her belongings, and we never heard from her again. But she left TYPE ONEGATIVE’s October Rust on CD, and I kind of inherited it. I remember hearing the intro to Love You To Death, the piano lead into Peter Steele’s really sultry voice, and I had an out-of-body experience.
It was one of the first times I realised metal can bend, and it can be whatever you want it to be.
“100 DEMONS are one of Dying Wish’s biggest influences, and Dying In My Own Arms especially is really influential. I saw [former vocalist] Bruce LePage write on Twitter, ‘I’m not anyone special, just a junkie who wrote some songs you like.’ That’s so real. I’m no different to anyone else in the room, I firmly believe in that.
“A Call For Blood is my favourite HATEBREED song. It’s about killing someone who caused a lot of bodily harm to awoman. Jamey [Jasta, vocals] has talked a lot about how he was brought up, it’s part of the puzzle you can put togeth
