Emmure have been bringing the mosh for the better part of the last 10 years. Their singer Frankie Palmeri has been in the metal news headlines for a slew of reasons over the course of that time, but in addition to being polarizing with his comments and activities he has also been productive, releasing 7 albums, the latest being Look at Yourself on Sharptone Records released March 3rd. In this interview with El Prezidente of The Chainsaw Symphony, Palmeri discusses the new record, the line-up shake up that occurred 2 years ago, rebuilding the band starting with guitarist Josh Travis (ex-Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza, Glass Cloud), dating porn stars, Limp Bizkit, and more.  

The new album Look at Yourself rips, man, it just brings the mosh non-stop a lot of great hooks and song writing. Felony was always my favorite record but this one may be eclipsing that.

That’s great, I’m really flattered. That’s definitely what we wanna hear.

 

What’s the sample at the end of the last song “Gucci Prison?”

It’s actually a Charles Manson interview I had downloaded a long time ago that excerpt from it I just felt was a really good closer for the album, it kind of calcifies the meaning of the song and kinda the whole vibe of the record in a way.  

 

It was a pretty brutal quote. I love the subtle use of samples on the record, something bands like Nothingface and White Zombie used to do well. What songs are getting a good reaction on this tour?  

We just put out the record literally last Friday, so the CD’s only out a little while and people are requesting all kinds of songs. The songs we’ve been playing live have been going over well, we only play three new songs, we like to ease people into it. 

 

I wanted to ask with the new line up if you were throwing a lot of the old stuff away and primarily focusing on the new?

To be quite honest with you, I think the goal of most artists is to make their current body of work the focus for themselves and the fans.  you always want your newest item or product to be your best seller. We’re really proud of the reaction so far. People are stoked, and if we get to play more new songs, awesome and if that takes over the place of some older stuff, so be it. I never throw anything away. I never exclude the people who have been following us since 2007 or earlier, there’s a lot of songs that they enjoy or hold close to them. You can’t make everybody happy but we do our best.  

 

I wanted to touch on the whole lineup shake up a couple years back, all the guys walking out on you in Russia. Didn’t you get electrocuted in Russia?

Yeah, in 2013 I did.

 

So Russia’s not a good place for you is it?

Actually Russia’s a great place for me. I’ve just had some very interesting experiences there.  

 

To say the least. So the walk out, did it catch you off guard completely and did it motivate you to really make this album extra killer?

Did it surprise me? No, not really. Did it motivate me? In some aspects.  I think that it created some dirt to scrape off the walls of my brain so I could make some art. But other than colors that it added to my creative juices or whatever, really the reason the record sounds so good was because I was able to team up with [new guitarist] Josh Travis, who saw value in my ideas, that’s a really important idea when your working on a project with someone they not only have to listen to you but also share a vision with you.  So me and Josh got to share a vision and our producer Drew Fulk who became a friend of ours through the process shared the vision. We were all on the same kilt and every day we were working, the record just became bigger and bigger. It was just a great meeting of the minds. In retrospect, what I’m telling you regardless of what took place, this record is pretty much just me and these great people making an amazing product.  

 

Selecting Josh to join the band, and all the new guys really, because you said there was a time you weren’t even sure if you were gonna continue with Emmure. How did you know Josh was the guy, how did you first meet?

I’ve known Josh over 10 years. He’s more than a guitar player, he’s a true virtuoso in every sense of the word when it comes to when it comes to just music. I’ve always been a fan of his, we were friends or acquaintance over the years and always stayed in touch. After the mass exodus happened and it came time to fill those shoes I was like ‘who do I think is the dude, who do I really respect, and who do I value to most as far as their ability and ideas,’ I was just like ‘Josh is my dude.’ I think he’s like the best guitar player ever so why don’t I just hit him up and say ‘look here’s what’s going on.’ It just so happened a door was closing for me and another was opening at the same time and it allowed us to team up.  

 

The video you guys did a while back with [porn star] Joanna Angel, what was it like meeting her? I’m a big fan.

She’s cool. She was really nice. That video was interesting. I’ve seen her since then, she’s cool, just a chick, she’s a mogul. She’s a girl that knows how to sell a product.  I respect her.

 

Yeah Burning Angel is great, a bunch of girls that look like someone you might see at a hardcore show.  Would you ever be with a porn star, have you ever been?

Yeah, I have actually.

 

No big deal for you?

No. I think it all comes down to your perspective on life and all kinds of shit like that.

 

Do you wanna name which porn chick?

No, we’ve had multiple discussions about whether or not we’ll give full disclosure of our relationship . I don’t know.

 

So it’s an actual relationship?  

Again, I have history with somebody, I feel like its not necessary to divulge that information. It’s her life too, I don’t want to fuck with her money you know?

 

OK, I want to geek out about Limp Bizkit real quick with you. Which albums hit you? You said you discovered them and Korn at the same time. Are you still a fan?

Funny thing, when I first heard Limp Bizkit, I was one of those kids who would stay up till 3 in the morning and watch MTV, all night watching any videos that came on. And if you stayed up late enough between like 2-4 in morning, they’d play some really cool shit, random videos they would never play during the day like Aphex Twin, Limp Bizkit and Korn.  And Limp Bizkit’s “Counterfeit” DJ Lethal remix had a music video that played on MTV and I was like ‘this is the coolest fucking thing I’ve ever heard in my life.’ 

I must have been 11 or 12 years old, and I had that song stuck in my head for weeks and weeks and I couldn’t remember who it was by – this was pre-internet in my house. So I’m riffing on this thing that I had heard. Fast forward to MTV Beach House ’98 when they made their first live TV appearance, I’m a little kid at home watching TV and I go ‘holy shit, this is that band I had heard,’ I connected it immediately. It was like a light bulb went off on my head. So I discovered them at that point, and they’ve been my favorite band since then pretty much. It’s like every record is fucking perfect. They always top themselves sonically. I actually just got Three Dollar Bill, Y’all on vinyl. I had to special order it from Japan.  It sounds amazing.  I’m a diehard fan. Obviously they became this pecking stick or whatever for music critic,s especially in their prime. But its kind of undeniable there’s just nothing like them, they sound massive, their shit bangs, so I’m a big fan.

 

I actually drove to Queens to be in the “Nookie” video that they shot in this alley.  

Oh nice. I remember now when that video was being shot, I couldn’t go. I begged my mom or dad to go and they were like “you’re not going anywhere.” I actually have friends that are in the music video. You can see them, they were right up front, kids from my childhood that I know that I still talk to now. So can you see yourself in the video?  

 

It’s debatable, maybe in this one quick pan shot of the crowd. You guys should tour with them. 

Yeah I get asked every single interview who I wanna tour with the most and I always say Limp Bizkit. So hopefully one day we can team up that would be awesome.  

 

If they would only get off their asses and put out a new record.  It’d be great for both bands I think.

Yeah I mean I’d love to bridge that gap for a number of reasons. Fingers crossed you know.