I Set My Friends On Fire's debut album, You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter turned 10 this year and we have commentary on the album from vocalist Matt Mehana. Enjoy the read and let us know your thoughts on the album ten years later.

First of all, how does it feel knowing You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter turns 10 this year?

Knowing 10 years has passed makes my existence feel so surreal. It’s obviously been a great deal of time but it doesn’t feel like things went slow at all. I feel like a big part of nostalgia to the “good ol’ days”. Fans always tells me they feel like they are reanimating their “inner teen years”. And it’s wild to hear that all the time considering a lot of these kids were my age when all of this started (17-18). A higher being has most definitely blessed me to still be touring/writing music until this very day!

How did you feel when the album came out?

When the album came it was one of the best days of my life. I felt so accomplished. It was the beginning of something really special. I knew it was going influence so many lives and change how post-hardcore music was perceived. I was really proud of myself.

Where do you think the album fits in the band's legacy?

The album fits in revisited state of mind for all ages to come. To me it’s not an album you can just listen to once, it’s something you go to and pick when no one else is there for you but the music is. I’ve had albums that I revisit after feeling depressed or helpless and after listening to then I would feel a lot better. That’s more or less what I think people do when listening to slaughter. feel like this album fits right up there with those other classics.

How did the band approach writing?



Usually nabil would write the music. Send it to me. I’d listen and start writing lyrics to it. Then I’d go back to the home studio with nabil and start trying to fit whatever lyrics I wrote over the music. I actually use to even hum out guitar melodies with my mouth so nabil could transmute them into actual guitar notes it was a great dynamic and a lot of fun. I always had melodies playing in my head all day and It’s cool to think a lot of them turned into memorable guitar melodies. Nowadays I write all the music and produce everything myself. Even record myself! It’s a lot to handle but it’s a really great feeling to have exactly what’s in your mind come out exactly how you imagined it.

What inspired the lyrics?

As far as lyrics go I’ve always have a huge imagination. I’ve had a way with words ever since I was little and making up stories was always my thing. I always try to involve what I’m going through into my lyrics but I obvious ly exaggerate a lot of the situations haha. I like to make people think. Mystery is fun to me and I like people take more than one meaning out of what I write. I didn’t want to just write anything out there in order to sound cool or seem “edgy”. I’ve always wanted to help people and if people saw that I took my time to create I a complicated point of thinking, I’d think they would see how much I care to go out of my way to write such extraordinary ideas to help them relate.



Do any of the themes touched on the album still hold relevant for you after 10 years?

I actually think the album was super ahead of its time. Especially on the melody side of things. If you put trap beats over most of the vocal melodies it would sound like most of the “emo trap” that has come out today. It’s a timeless album that people can still enjoy today and I think it’s still relevant to what people are still trying to go for in today’s music. Although I still think it came out at the perfect time. Post-hardcore needed something refreshing and I think we gave 2008 exactly what it needed. Even the “woahs” and “yeah” ad libs can heard in a lot of trap these days.

What were your hopes and expectations for the record during the writing and recording process?



I was hoping to make a difference in peoples lives and make life fun with the music we were creating. There’s nothing better than affecting someone’s life for the better. I really really tried to make sure that every permanent word I wrote for the album would stay engraved in peoples minds and help them understand things in times of need. I also expected my life to change forever and ever since that album came out I’ve felt like I have an unwritten duty to keep writing new and creative music to move people.

When you were in the studio, how was the morale of everyone?

It was all very exciting during those times of writing the record. Everyone knew we were on to something special and it kind felt like nothing could stop us. It never felt like work at any moment. The drive everyone has was unreal. I still am motivated today but I don’t think anything could beat the drive I had back then for writing music.