Meet Green Hog Band

Rev up those engines and grab your two-wheelers because we have one heck of a guest for you today. Green Hog Band is the grinding hard-rocking sludgy stoner metal band of my dreams. Hogs are often covered in fuzz, and so are the lovely tracks this band puts out. If you need a good reason to slowly bang your head into oblivion pop on their new album “Dogs From Hell” and get to know the band a little better in our latest interview.

A self-portrait by Green Hog Band

Would You Rather

only be able to communicate with Morse code or dolphin noises?

Mike: Dolphin Noises! Sounds way more poetic.

Ivan: I agree with Mike on that!

Some questions with Green Hog Band

Did you go through any musical phases in high school? Has it in any way shaped what you are making now?

Mike: Yes, of course. When I was in high-school I had a music band with my friends. We tried to play some heavy music - we tried to achieve the sound similar to Nazareth or Black Sabbath, but due to lack of equipment it was impossible (It was the USSR in the late 70s after all).

Ivan: Growing up I was exposed to different music, but I always liked blues and for me big discovery was early metal and heavy rock!

Ronan: In High School I had one musical phase - Doors/Who/Zeppelin. I drove my family crazy.

Is this the first music project you have all been involved with?

Mike and Ivan: No, actually 3 of us had and have other bands and projects that we formed. The oldest one is The Vivisectors - a heavy surf-rock with psychedelic elements.

Ronan: I’ve been in bands on and off since I was 16. This is the best one though!

What was it that brought Green Hog Band together?

Ivan and Mike: passion for heavy music, like mindedness, and the drummer that loves the same kind of music. Shoutout to Ronan :)

Ronan: I was already playing in a band with Mike and Ivan. They introduced me to this genre, and it fit perfectly.

What kinds of stories do you like to tell through your music?

Mike: We like to tell stories about disturbing things, creatures, and events that people don't mention in everyday life. These things change the mind of the person who has experience with them.

Ivan: Yes, we like to tell stories about creatures from the beyond, bike rides, and bizarre adventures.

Ronan: I don’t understand Russian, but I suspect most of the lyrics are about sacrificing the drummer in a satanic ritual after the show is over…

Did you ever get grounded growing up? If so why?

Mike: No, not at home, but at highschool I was the troublemaker sometimes.

Ivan: Nah, not really.

Ronan: I used to get in trouble all the time but everyone else did too, so I wasn’t extraordinary.

What gear do you use to get your fuzz?

Mike: Well, the first thing that determines the sounds are of course the pickups. Personally I prefer Seymour Duncan. The second thing is the lowered tuning - we are playing in C standard tuning. And of course pedals and amps as a last step. I use Randall, Marshall, and Blackstar as my go-to amplifiers. I use a bunch of fuzz pedals, to name the few: Earthquaker Hoof, Erupter, and Acapulco Gold, Behringer Vintage Distortion, and FZ300.

Ivan: I believe in the clean bass sounds with pushy low end, sometimes sprinkled with overdrive sound. I use either Peavey Nitrobass, or Fender Rumble. My favourite bass is my very first instrument - Fender P bass, and if I need more range I use Schecter Omen Extreme 5 - budget bass with a pleasant sound. Among the pedals I use Boss ... tuner! :)

Ronan: I have Ludwig drums and I wrap them in fuzzy blankets.

How is the world going to end?

Mike: The world will end once the dolphins learn the Morse code and the dog-headed people will roam free in the world.

Ivan: The great magnet will stop rotating and the earth will strike the sky's axis!

Ronan: Death Star Attack.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Mike: "Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas!"

Ivan: Ommm!

Ronan: “Idle hands are the Devil’s playground”

Green Hog Band