Hatebreed guitarist Wayne Lozinak had a health scare back in June when he dropped out of the band’s European tour following a brain tumor diagnosis. The guitarist is now recovered for the most part and ready to share details on how it was discovered, his brain surgery, and the overall recovery process. In a new interview with The Mike James Rock Show, Lozinak revealed that the issue first appeared during the band’s Download Festival performance in June, when he suddenly lost the ability to speak.
“ I had symptoms at Download festival. I went to the doctor in France the next day. It was weird. My lip got numb, and I was, like, ‘That’s kind of weird.’ But then I couldn’t talk. It was almost like I was having a stroke. So then we had a day off in France the next day. I was fine the next day, but I was, like, ‘Let me go see the doctor.’ My girlfriend actually told me. I was, like, ‘I’m fine.’ She’s, like, ‘You’d better go or I’m gonna come out there.’ I was, like, ‘All right. All right. I’ll go. I’ll go.’
And then I got the scan and they saw a big tumor. I had to stay overnight. Then they did the MRI and then they finally said it was benign. No cancer, which was good, but it was big. And they said it’s probably been there for years, the doctor said. And they were, like, ‘It’s not an emergency, but get it done within the next three months.’ So I went back to the US, made an appointment with a surgeon. I got it taken out.”
Lozinak underwent surgery on August 4, a procedure that temporarily affected his speech and motor skills. On his recovering, the guitarist explained:
“I couldn’t even talk when they first took out. ‘Cause it was in my speech center, so I actually had a mild stroke when they took it out. So I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t write. It was almost like I just forgot how to speak. So I needed a speech therapist, all this stuff.”
While being told it would take eight weeks to recover, Lozinak explained how he asked if he would be able to return touring, stating:
“And then I was, like, ‘Well, can I go on tour?’ And they were asking me questions and doing tests. They were just, like, ‘Don’t headbang too crazy.’ That my one thing. I’m, like, ‘I’ll try not to.’ It’s hard, but, yeah, that was about it. But I’m pretty good now, so I’m happy. The brain had to relearn after the disruption.”
Overall, the guitarist is feeling good. When first diagnosed, Hatebreed recruited Matt Bachand to fill in during his absence. Back in July, Hatebreed released their first single in nearly five years, “Make the Demons Obey.” Hopefully, this means more new music is on the way as we move closer towards 2026.
