Full of Hell Guitarist Spencer Hazard Shares His Ten Favorite Metal T-Shirts
A metalhead’s t-shirt collection contains some of their most prized possessions. Sweaty, stained and torn, our shirts are chronicles of our lives, physical markers of a past time and place that we pridefully put on our bodies every day. They have a clear pecking order: there are those shirts you wear only when all the best ones are in the laundry, there are the absolute favorites you wear once every couple of weeks, and there are all the shirts in between, each with their own clear rank. To a metalhead, T-shirts are EVERYTHING.
Full of Hell guitarist Spencer Hazard is the latest to share his favorites for our new series My Metal T-Shirt Collection. Full of Hell will be touring with Cattle Decapitation, Revocation and Artificial Brain on a MetalSucks-sponsored run this fall; get dates here and at the bottom of this post.
1. Spectral Voice
This shirt is one of the newer ones in my collection, but I think it may have started my recent obsession with longsleeves. If you don’t know Spectral Voice, they’re one of today’s best death metal bands who also share members with another great band, Blood Incantation. I got this shirt when I saw them sometime last year in Baltimore supporting Undergang. The show was sparsely attended but nevertheless they played one of the best sets I’ve ever seen of any band. There are no words to describe how great they sounded, so all I can say is that if they come to your town make sure you go to see them.
2. Swans
Swans are one of my favorite bands and this era is their best, in my opinion. Everyone I talk to seems to be more into the albums Filth or Cop the most, but I’ve been more partial to Greed, Holy Money and A Screw. I think when they added Jarboe and more industrial elements it took this band to a whole other level.
3. Artificial Brain
Artificial Brain, a band I cannot wait to get to share the road with. This is probably the most recent longsleeve in my shirt collection, but it well earns its place. Their new album, Infrared Horizon, takes elements of Gorguts and Demilich and adds a unique spin, making it one of my favorite records of the year. I can’t wait to see these guys tear up the stage for almost 2 months.
4. GISM
When I found out GISM were added to Roadburn 2016 I legitimately freaked out. It was already an honor we were asked to place the fest, but to also get to see a band I never thought I’d be able to see in my entire life??? I made sure we had the day off to be able to see them and I got to the fest hours before doors just so I could be first in line to grab a shirt. Their set wasn’t as crazy as all their classic videos or the legends spread about them through the years have told, but that didn’t take away from the experience. To be able to see one of the best punk bands ever play Destestation, one of the greatest punk records ever written? Priceless.
5. Trtrkmmr
Trtrkmmr are a black metal/noise project from Milwaukee, WI. He’s only ever played live once and I think only 50 of these shirts were made. The only reason I have one is because I bothered Lee from The Body for it for at least two years. The Body are pretty good friends with the man behind the project and I constantly ask them to get him to make more merch but it never happens. Lee finally surprised me with this shirt over the summer when I came home from tour and there was a package on the bed. So thank you, Lee, for giving me one of my favorite band shirts.
6. Cannibal Corpse
You’ll be able to tell from the next two entries on my list, but I love white shirts with full color ink. Something about how they get worn in over time just feels so much more comfortable than regular black band shirts. I absolutely love this design and the classic Cannibal Corpse logo will always be superior. This shirt has come on almost every single tour with me for the last two or three years and has seen its fair share of stages.
7. Autopsy
As I said previously, I love full color print on white shirts, and this Autopsy t-shirt is yet another one that has gone on countless tours and has been worn during countless shows. You can probably tell from the discolored armpits and the big hole from my guitar rubbing on my belt. Mental Funeral was probably one of the first death metal albums that actually clicked with me. I liked Carcass and I liked Cannibal in high school, but there was something about Autopsy that made me want to explore the genre more. Mental Funeral is doom influenced with a punk edge and that really stuck with me throughout the years.
8. Misfits
This shirt has sentimental value to me more than anything else. What is there really to say about the Misfits? The image has been run into the ground by now after seeing it in every mall and Forever 21, but this shirt is still special to me. It’s the oldest shirt I own and I was the third in line to receive it out of my friends in 8th grade. As you can tell it has seen some shit. At this point the mouth actually opens and closes. Once there is no material left to actually wear then I’ll finally retire it.
9. Sarcofago
My absolute favorite shirt that I own. I have worn it at least once a week for the past four years and it comes on every single tour we go on. I.N.R.I. by Sarcofago is my absolute favorite black metal album of all time. The insane drumming, the disgusting vocals, the intro to “Christ’s Death”… actual perfection. Not only is it my favorite black metal album of all time, its also one of my favorite album covers. I get a lot of looks when I wear this one out in public because of the large back print that says “Insulters of Jesus Christ,” but I have no plans of retiring this one anytime soon.
10. Merzbow
I think that the Relapse/Release era of Merzbow is his best work and Venereology is the best album to come from those releases. My friend worked at a thrift store in Richmond a few years ago and he posted this shirt for sale on Instagram. I messaged him immediately and asked for a price, but being the good friend he is he just sent it to me free of charge. The shirt ended up being a 2XL and I didn’t really feel comfortable wearing it in public, so I stashed it away. A few years later we had a chance to collaborate with Merzbow on record and in person in Tokyo. I knew this would be a great opportunity to have him sign it for me. When he saw the shirt all he said in broken English was, “Very old shirt.” Now it sits framed on my bedroom wall.
Cattle Decapitation, Revocation, Full of Hell, Artificial Brain:
Tuesday 10/10/2017 Los Angeles, CA Regent Theater *
Wednesday 10/11/2017 San Diego, CA Brick By Brick *
Thursday 10/12/2017 Flagstaff, AZ Green Room *
Friday 10/13/2017 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
Saturday 10/14/2017 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
Sunday 10/15/2017 Jerome, ID Diamondz Event Center
Monday 10/16/2017 Portland, OR Bossanova
Tuesday 10/17/2017 Seattle, WA Studio Seven
Wednesday 10/18/2017 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre
Friday 10/20/2017 Edmonton, AB Starlite
Saturday 10/21/2017 Calgary, AB Dickens
Sunday 10/22/2017 Regina, SK The Exchange
Monday 10/23/2017 Winnipeg, MB Park Theater
Tuesday 10/24/2017 Minneapolis, MN Cabooze
Thursday 10/26/2017 Cleveland, OH Agora Ballroom
Friday 10/27/2017 Chicago, IL Reggies
Saturday 10/28/2017 Covington, KY Madison Live
Sunday 10/29/2017 Detroit, MI Token Lounge
Tuesday 10/31/2017 Toronto, ON Opera House
Wednesday 11/1/2017 Montreal, QC Les Foufounes Electriques
Thursday 11/2/2017 Syracuse, NY Lost Horizon
Friday 11/3/2017 Boston, MA Once Ballroom
Saturday 11/4/2017 Philadelphia, PA Voltage
Sunday 11/5/2017 Baltimore, MD Soundstage
Monday 11/6/2017 New York, NY Highline Ballroom
Wednesday 11/8/2017 Virginia Beach, VA Shaka’s
Thursday 11/9/2017 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
Friday 11/10/2017 Orlando, FL The Haven
Saturday 11/11/2017 Tampa, FL Orpheum
Monday 11/13/2017 New Orleans, LA Southport Music Hall
Tuesday 11/14/2017 Houston, TX White Oak Music Hall
Wednesday 11/15/2017 Austin, TX Come and Take It Live
Thursday 11/16/2017 Oklahoma City, OK 89th St Collective
Friday 11/17/2017 San Antonio, TX Korovo
Saturday 11/18/2017 El Paso, TX Tricky Falls
Sunday 11/19/2017 Phoenix, AZ Club Red
Monday 11/20/2017 Las Vegas, NV Beauty Bar
Tuesday 11/21/2017 San Francisco, CA DNA Lounge
* = Thanatology will be replacing Full of Hell
