MEET THE BAND: Eric Egan (vocals, guitar), Adam Paduch (drums), Seamus Groman (bass), Ty Sickels (guitar)
IT STARTED AS A SOLO PROJECT: Egan originally launched the band as a solo project, but he eventually started to take the group more seriously. "I didn't even plan on playing any shows, but that changed, and we're a full band now. We've gotten more and more active with it. I'm really happy about it." Egan has known everyone in the band for a few years. "Seamus and I have been friends since growing up. Seeing [drummer] Adam [Paduch] and [guitarist] Ty [Sickels] play in other bands, I really wanted to play music with them. We've gone through lineup changes, but where we're at right now is really great."
A RANGE OF INFLUENCES: Egan says the band takes influences from metal and hip-hop and that members all grew up playing more aggressive punk music. "We've always had an appreciation for the poppier side of punk," he says. "In my free time, I listen to hardcore and metal and death metal and Adam is really into stoner rock and riff-y, heavy rock stuff. Some of my favorite bands are melodic based. I like Husker Du and Nirvana and Jawbreaker."
A BAND WITH A MANIFESTO: In the manifesto he penned for the band, Egan says, "As stated in Newton's Third Law of Motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Despite the unbelievable power that Heart Attack Man wields, we are not exempt from the laws of physics, and the equal, opposite reaction pushing against us has certainly shaped us."
MORE TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE: Compared to the band's first album, 2017's The Manson Family, the new album, Fake Blood, is much more focused. "It's more calculated," Egan says of Fake Blood. "We've come into our own as a full band, and we collaboratively brought our own elements. When I was writing the songs, I would just have a skeleton of a song, and we'd flesh it out. Our approach was more organized and cohesive. We function more as a unit." The band took two-a-half weeks to record at the Barber Shop, a studio in northern New Jersey. "That amount of time was great," says Egan. "We recorded our debut in six days, but recording it all in six days made it really rushed."
WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR THEM: The band shows off its musical range on Fake Blood. "Blood Blister" and "Out for Blood" have Weezer-like elements as they feature lurching guitars and parched vocals that give it an emo vibe. The ballad "Moths in a Lampshade" demonstrates the band's soft side, and "Cut My Losses" registers as a breakup ballad for the ages.
WHERE YOU CAN HEAR THEM: heartattackman.bandcamp.com.
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM: Heart Attack Man performs with Perverts Again, Crime of Passing and Joyframe at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, at Mahall's 20 Lanes in Lakewood.
