HAVOK

INTERVIEW WITH SINGER / GUITARIST DAVID SANCHEZ BY NICHOLAS SENIOR

PHOTO BY ALAN SNODGRASS

The through line for V, the new record from Colorado-based thrash titans Havok, out now via Century Media, is reckoning with what truth and meaning is in a world that feels like it's full of meaningless shit. Through his insightful lyrics, vocalist and guitarist David Sanchez pushes against the status quo and our elites – but it’s anti-political in a way that only discussions that get to the truth can be. As opposed to having one middle finger up in a certain direction, Sanchez and company have two middle fingers up, pointing at each side.

“I think our predicament in life in where we are culturally and in this point in history is unlike any other time,” says Sanchez. “I mean, everyone has a supercomputer in their pocket that can be an assistant to their wisdom and their wellbeing, or it can be detrimental. It’s all about which path you decide to walk down.”

“Stoicism has been a big part of my life, personally and philosophically and lyrically,” he continues. “The main point of stoicism is essentially to play the hand that you’re dealt. The idea is the things that you cannot control, you just cut them out of your life and let it just be what it is, because there's nothing you can do about it. With the things that you can control, do your very best with those things.”

If it’s not clear yet, one of the challenges with stoicism, as it pertains to selling a philosophy, is that it isn’t sexy. It’s not fun or easy to, say, have more grateful appreciation for the world around you and to not live in fear or pursuit of pleasure. However, while Sanchez didn’t predict a global pandemic that would force humanity inside their homes and minds, if there’s ever a time to be grateful for the shit we have around us, it’s now. “When we’re talking about how there’s a prophetic nature to some of the lyrics, obviously I wasn’t anticipating there to be some sort of a massive outbreak of a virus that makes everyone need to be quarantined and stuck in their house,” he says. “I didn’t foresee that specifically coming, but I’ve been saying for a long time that there’s a lot of things that we could do differently, and the people really do have the power, and a lot of it. Even if you don’t have power politically, or physically, or intimidation-wise or anything like that, you do have power over your own mind. The big thing with stoicism, and I believe this to be true, is we can’t always control what happens, but we can always control how we react to what happens.”

“Right now, people need to take inventory of the things that they can be grateful for, instead of looking at all the things that are terrible,” he continues. “Take inventory of the things that you do have that are good, and it’ll yield a lot more positivity and less stress, and just generally more happiness.”

And one of the truly great things that we have to be grateful for is a certain record called V. As with every Havok album, subtle yet significant sonic shifts are evident. However, it’s very clear that the band wanted to push things in a more progressive and funky direction.

“We’re massively influenced by old ’70s progressive bands, funk, jazz, classical, bluegrass, old country, punk rock, ’80s new wave, and flamenco guitar,” Sanchez says. “A lot of that stuff works its way into our music subliminally.”

Spotting those new musical clues will be a fun game for fans. It’s not as if there is a two-minute free jazz solo or saxophone interlude to scream at the listener - it’s tastefully done and filtered through the Havok lens.

“It’s fun to take influence from that, but then work it into our sound,” Sanchez says. “Inspiration doesn’t mean super

“THE THINGS THAT YOU CANNOT CONTROL, YOU JUST CUT THEM OUT OF YOUR LIFE. WITH THE THINGS THAT YOU CAN CONTROL, DO YOUR VERY BEST.”

direct influence on things. You can take an idea from a funk song and apply it to heavy, evil riffs, and come out with something that’s super heavy. A lot of funk is very, very heavy. It’s just not evil. So, we take that kind of inspiration, but we just choose to make it way more sinister in our note choice.”

Think of these influences and flourishes as the fungus that grows on the album’s gorgeous cover, by artist Eliran Kantor– adding texture, eeriness, and coming across as something uniquely beautiful. V is a masterclass in modern thrash from a band who keep growing with each album. �� �� ��