Hatebreed was formed in 1994 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They began by recording a three song demo and selling it to locals in 1995 and those songs would eventually be released on a split 7" with New York's Neglect in the same year. They followed that with the highly acclaimed EP Under the Knife scheduled to come out on Big Wheel Recreation in 1995 but then was self-released 1996, and went out on tour around the east coast/midwest supporting UKHC band Voorhees.[1] The following year they released Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire on Victory Records, then the home of some of the biggest bands in American hardcore. Satisfaction sold more copies than any other debut in the history of the record company.
The band's fourth album, Supremacy, was released in August 2006, their first through Roadrunner Records, featuring new guitarist Frank Novinec (who had previously spent time playing with Ringworm, Terror, and Integrity). Jasta described it as an "all-out onslaught of completely adrenaline-charged, in-your-face brutality".[2] On September 13, 2006, former guitarist Lou Richards committed suicide at the age of 35; he had played on 1997's Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire and left the band in 2002.
Hatebreed headlined the second stage on the 2007 Ozzfest tour. Hatebreed appeared at Wacken Open Air festival in 2008 alongside Iron Maiden, Children of Bodom, and Avantasia. In April 2008, Hatebreed signed a worldwide deal with Koch Records for the release of a live DVD, a live album, and a cover album. On September 2, they released their concert DVD, entitled Live Dominance.[3] On February 9, 2009, guitarist Sean Martin quit the band.[4] Sean quit the band to pursue other interests in music that are more studio-related. However, Sean remains close to and in contact with Hatebreed members.
In 2009, the band released For the Lions on May 5, a studio record consisting of covers of songs by artists that have influenced the band's development. Artists covered included Metallica, D.R.I., Crowbar, and Cro-Mags.[5] Also in the same year, Hatebreed's sixth studio album, entitled Hatebreed, was released on September 29.
The band's ninth studio album Weight of the False Self was released on November 27, 2020.[9][10] In the summer of 2021, Hatebreed, along with Trivium, served as an opening act for Megadeth and Lamb of God on the "Metal Tour of the Year". Hatebreed replaced In Flames, who were forced to withdraw from the tour due to international visa issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
Hatebreed is currently working on a new album, which is tentatively due for release in 2025.[12][13]
In the mid-1990s, vocalist of emoviolence band In/Humanity, Chris Bickel produced a zine calling out Victory Records for their business practices. Bickel attended a Hatebreed show and was quickly surrounded by the band, which threatened him with violence and called him homophobic slurs. After the show, frontman and vocalist Jamey Jasta declared himself a homophobe and again threatened Bickel with violence in a voicemail.[15] In/Humanity played this voicemail to open their shows, and when Hatebreed played In/Humanity's hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, between-song banter included their hatred of Bickel and his band.[16]
Hatebreed is a longtime sponsor of UFC fighter Chris Camozzi. At UFC 158 in Montreal on March 16, 2013, Camozzi claimed he was required by the UFC "for some reason" to cover Hatebreed's logos, on his T-shirt and ring introduction banner, with black tape.[17]
In 2016, former drummer Nick "Nickel P" Papantoniou (a member of the band from 1996 to 1997) was sentenced to 45 years in prison after being convicted of felony murder.[18] That conviction was overturned in January 2023 when it was discovered by Attorney James Ruane and proven at trial that Papantoniou's trial attorney had brokered a deal with the prosecution on behalf of another client to testify against Papantoniou and that deal was never disclosed to the court or Papantoniou. The court found Papantoniou's original attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel and reversed the finding and ordered a new trial to occur.[19]
