Few ten year old metal bands have been through as many label changes as New York's hardcore chuggers Sworn Enemy. First there was State of Mind, the Stillborn, Elektra, Abacus and now Century Media. But through it all the band members have stuck it out, whether it seemed like they were on the verge of falling apart or breaking into the mainstream.
"We've come really close [to breaking through], but it's a battle that can't be won, man, and we ain't stopping," guitarist Lorenzo Antonucci told MTVnews.com's Metal File. "A lot of bands would have given up already, and we just don't, because we came from sh--. Every band comes from something, but how this band has built its fanbase, and what we have as a band today... I've truly had some of the hardest days of my life being in this band, and I would never want to relive it. We slept in vans for months at a time, not eating for days, and it was horrible."
Lorenzo hasn't given up on his need for noisy self-expression, but he has come to the realization that he's one of the last embers of a long burning flame. "Really, hardcore is dead in the U.S.," he said. "Who's big in hardcore at the moment? Name one band, man. I think a lot of the bands in the scene now would agree that hardcore's dead."
Antonucci isn't about to blame any single individual or label for his group's failure to ignite a new hardcore revolution, however he admits that not having a longterm, supportive label has been a major setback.
"We put out our first two demos with [Stillborn], and [the label's owner and Hatebreedd frontman Jamey Jasta] calls us one day, while we're on some sh---y tour, and he's like, 'Dude, I think I got you guys signed to Elektra,'" Antonucci said. "We thought he was kidding, but long story short, we thought it was going to be the biggest thing for us, and it turned out not to be. We were a small fish in a big pond, and they didn't promote us at all. We had no press, but we were touring our asses off. Then they let us go, because Elektra was folding — that set us back a good year. See, if you're not in people's faces, and you kind of disappear, and you're still trying to build momentum, you just lose that momentum. We sort of just died off after Ozzfest and then signed with Abacus. We hired a publicist, and we thought we were the big fish in the little pond, and we'd move forward. But, again, we didn't have any press, no promotion, and we weren't getting on any big tours. We were on that Anthrax 10-day reunion tour, playing to a bunch of 40-year-old men who [couldn't] give a sh-- about Sworn Enemy."
Maybe 2008 will be the year of Sworn Enemy. As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis is now managing the band and he recently co-produced their new record, Maniacal, with Life of Agony's Joey Z. And, Sworn Enemy have a high-profile tour coming up with the reunited Earth Crisis, Terror, Shai Hulud, Down to Nothing and Recon (dates start February 29 in Worcester, Massachusetts).
"I feel like we're on the brink, and we're almost finally able to survive off the band," Antonucci said. "We'd love to be a part of any of the summer festivals, but we just never get the chance because I think people don't see the band as something that's going to bring something to the table. We're just so hungry, and we're still here, [whereas] bands that were on Sounds of the Underground two years ago aren't around anymore. We need people to start paying attention to us, because we're not going anywhere."
Read the complete Sworn Enemy interview and plenty of music news on this week's Metal File on MTVnews.com.
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