During the mid to late 80s Ohio based SHOK PARIS delivered three well-received records and were considered one of the hottest bands in the thriving U.S. metal scene. Unfortunately, the end of the decade brought the end of the band and it was as late as 2009 that singer Vic Hix and guitarist Ken Erb decided to revive the group. Ever since the band has been promsing a new record and eleven years after the reboot time has finally come for SHOK PARIS to release there first new studio album in 31 years. And as Vic Hix tells us, the making of „Full Metal Jacket“ was a true labor of love.
Hi Vic and thanks a lot for taking time for this interview! How are you doing?
We are doing Great thank you, we are really fired up for the new release, can’t wait to get it to our fans!!!
SHOK PARIS are one of the longest-running U.S. Metal outfits and yet matters surrounding the band have been rather quiet over the past decade. What can you tell us about the way that led to the release of “Full Metal Jacket”?
We have been saying for a very long time, that we wanted to give our fans something new to listen to, yes it took forever but we are extremely happy with how it turned out, we did this completely on our own, And Ken „Screamin'“ Erb gets all the credit, we transferred his livingroom in to a temporary Recording Studio and he pretty much took the time to learn the and master the skills of recording and mixing and we are extremely happy with how it turned out!!
Your new album “Full Metal Jacket” will be released through Greek Label No Remorse. How did this collaboration come to pass?
In 2012 we played the „Up the Hammers Festival“ and was introduced to Chris of No Remorse Records, a very nice guy and a big fan of the band, we went to visit his store and talked at that time, to him about doing a new CD and he expressed interest at that time, that he would like to do something with us, if we do a recording! That being said, when we announce we where done recording the new CD, he contacted us about putting it out on his label!! We are very pleased with everything he is doing for us that is for sure!!
With the exception of “Steel And Starlight: The Auburn Sessions” the last new studio material from SHOK PARIS was released in 1989. Is the spirit of the band still the same after 31 years?
Absolutely, we consider the new music, a continuation of our musical style the same Classic Old School Metal we did in the past, we love what we did then and we love what we do today, we only know one thing, and that’s how to ROCK!! We are sure our fans, old and new, will will feel that vibe right from the first track to the very last track on the album, it’s Shok Paris right from the start!!
Following up on that, how did the songwriting and recording for “Full Metal Jacket” go down?
It was a long process, we started working on new material actually in 2010, little by little, good music doesn’t happen overnight, Art takes time, so at the beginning of 2017 we decided to start recording, we purchased the equipment we needed and borrowed equipment from friends and set up a make shift studio for recording, the drums and bass guitar was recorded in one location, and the guitars and vocals where recorded in another, we turned a closet into a vocal/guitar recording booth. We took our time recording, Screamin‘ (Ken Erb) did pretty much all of the leg work when it came to the recordings, but because I live 120 miles away from Cleveland, I could only come up once a month to record my main vocals and did the same for backing vocals, then again for gang vocals so that took the most time really!!
How would you describe “Full Metal Jacket”? Where do you see differences (or similarities) to previous releases?
Personally, I see it as a continuation of the bands style with a few different members, the main writing team of Erb and me stayed the same through the years, the new band members all grew up as Shok Paris fans, thus this helps us keep the band in the same style of music!!
What’s your favourite song on “Full Metal Jacket” and why?
In my humble opinion, I will, and always have, answered this question the exact same way, when you start writing songs, you put you heart and soul into each and every song, as a writer it is what you do, you believe in that song it becomes part of you forever! That is your Legacy! Your music, every song, is my favorite, it’s what you do!!! It is what you believe in!!
I saw you perform at “Headbangers Open Air” in Germany in 2010. Back then you also announced a new album called “Decharge Electrique” but unfortunately my younger self was never able to find it anywhere. What happened to this release?
If you wite music you know sometimes you struggle to write at times, you just hit a musical wall so to speak so we put it on the shelf, we wrote for it, and got many of the songs worked up and done, but that was it. Then all of a sudden, like a switch, it turned back on and we started writing new material and decided to call it „Full Metal Jacket“ after one of the new songs we wrote, so that being said, that album just might be the follow up to „FMJ“!!!
The COVID-19 pandemic affects all areas of public life and the economy but it seems to me that concert venues and bands dependent on the income from live shows are hit especially hard. How do you feel about this?
Actually, it is completely out of our hands, and like everyone else, all we can do is wait to see when this situation changes!! Hopefully it will be sooner than later!!
With the current situation the question seems moot, but let’s hope that concert life goes back to some kind of normal towards the end of the year. Are there any touring plans for SHOK PARIS? Is there a chance to see you in Germany soon?
As of right now we are scheduled to come back to Europe in March 2021 to do our second, „Up the Hammers Festival“ in Athens Greece, this was just before the Virus put a hold on everything! So sadly, all we can do is wait it out, and hope we get to do „UTH“ in 2021 an getting invited to more shows in Europe soon!!
Thank you for the interview! Please let us do a short brainstorming in the end of this interview. What comes in your mind first reading the following terms:
Go For The Throat: „Off with their Heads Metal“!!!
Flying V: Screamin‘ Erb!!
Modern Metal: I prefer Melody with my Madness, Thank you!!
Pay To Play: Not interested!!
Retro: Old School Rules!!
SHOK PARIS in 10 years: May we have many more albums to support by then and many more shows in Europe to do!! The Greatest Metal Fans in the World, Gather at European Metal Festivals!! And Shok Paris thanks each and every one of them!!
Once again thanks for your time. The last words are yours – is there anything left you want to tell our readers?
Thank you all for your support for all of these years, and we Promise to make you all „proud“ with „Full Metal Jacket“!!
17. Juni 2020 Thomas Meyns
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