“If you’re trying to find gold, you have to get up early and go to the mountain and dig.”
Jason Hook joined Chuck Armstrong for Loudwire Nights on Monday (Aug. 28) and used that gold-digging illustration to capture his own work ethic when it comes to making music. Joining Five Finger Death Punch in 2009, Hook co-wrote some of their biggest hits up to his departure in 2020.
As the pandemic turned the world upside down, Hook’s passion for music—and his “insane work ethic,” as he put it—led him to write a lot of new music. Now, three years later, he’s forging a powerful path forward with his new band Flat Black and their first songs, “It’s Your Lack of Respect” and “Halo.”
“I was sort of coming up with an idea a day,” Hook told Chuck about writing music at the start of the pandemic. “After a couple of months, you sort of have an A pile and a B pile. ‘Halo’ was one of those that was in the A pile—and it’s a little different. I’m playing piano on the beginning of that song and then it comes in with a guitar. It’s not a song that I thought would be a lead song, but it’s all about the vibe and that song has a vibe and it puts you in an emotional place.”
As for “It’s Your Lack of Respect,” the song definitely has a vibe, but it’s a much heavier, intense and relentless vibe.
“That was the first song I worked on and I just punched in the drum beat and started writing around that,” he explained. “High-energy music is a great way to re-enter the atmosphere.”
Hook’s re-entry into the atmosphere isn’t stopping with these two tracks; Flat Black are already on the road with Godsmack and they’re gearing up to release their debut full-length album soon.
“We got signed with 16 finished masters—and that was 16 cut down from the 35 that were available … the album will come out early 2024.”
Bringing Corey Taylor Into the World of Flat Black
As Hook and Flat Black prepare for their first-ever studio album to come out next year, one thing he is certain of is that he’s focused on making music that “feels good and feels natural.” That focus also means he’s up for collaborating with other artists as it makes sense.
And for Flat Black’s upcoming record, there was one collaboration that Hook told the Loudwire Nights audience definitely made sense.
“I developed a friendship with Corey Taylor back in 2020,” Hook said. “He and I wrote five songs together.”
Hook said he doesn’t talk about this friendship too much, but he mentioned that the opportunity to work with Taylor happened very organically.
“When it came time to put the Flat Black record together, I asked Corey, ‘Would you be okay if I used one of the songs?’ So, Corey is on the record. He’s the only guest on the record.”
READ MORE: Corey Taylor Tears Up Over Mental Health Discussion
Chuck told Hook that as far as special guests go, having Taylor on his debut LP is a pretty good guest to have. Hook quickly agreed.
“He crushed it. We did the song called ‘Nothing to Some’ and it’s just 100-percent, unapologetic Corey Taylor.”
What Else Did Jason Hook Discuss on Loudwire Nights?
- The process of finding each member of the band and how he thought Flat Black might not actually happen
- What it was like meeting 10 years ago
- Why he considers himself a “vidiot”
Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below
Jason Hook joined Loudwire Nights on Monday, Aug. 28; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand. Stream Flat Black’s new songs at this location and then check out their full tour schedule.
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