Walls Of Jericho’s Dustin Schoenhofer on the band’s first new album in 10 years
Since forming in Detroit in the late ’90s, Walls of Jericho have helped shape the metalcore genre with early staples like The Bound Feed the Gagged and All Hail the Dead. Following a decade without a full-length studio album – during which they stayed busy on major festival stages like Hellfest and Furnace Fest – the band just returned with System Error: Humanity, out now via Napalm Records. Recorded with Converge’s Kurt Ballou, the new record leans into thrash-driven riffing, themes of self-determination and human rights, and features guest spots from Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe and The Red Chord’s Guy Kozowyk.
We caught up with drummer Dustin Schoenhofer to talk about the ten-year gap between albums, working with Kurt Ballou, and the making of System Error: Humanity.
PRT: System Error: Humanity is your first new album in ten years. Was that a matter of life getting in the way or did you need a break from writing and recording?
Dustin: It was a matter of a lot of things: life, lineup changes, we stopped playing the game after the American dream of tour/album/tour/album that the “industry” expected. Some bands stop touring and just do albums; we decided to stop doing albums and continue to tour.
PRT: How has the place that Walls Of Jericho holds in your life changed over the years?
Dustin: Yes, I’ve been in this band for 23 years; it’s always been a high priority to do what we can and what makes us happy
PRT: The new album packs a whopping 15 songs. Which made me wonder how many songs you had floating around? And how did you whittle it down to 15?
Dustin: We had about 19 songs, but once we got to Godcity and started working on demos, we scrapped a few.
PRT: System errors can be dramatic. If you look at how political discourse between parties has be in the US over the span of just a couple of years, do you think there is still a way of getting back to just being decent to one another?
Dustin: Yes, I believe that we are all capable of being good humans, we just need to get better at it as a society, and we are clearly seeing the resistance of that with all these bullshit fascist groups trying to divide us and seize control. It’s not working too well for them, and to be honest, it never will; they’re running for cover with these elections here and soon will all be held accountable.
PRT: Your lyrics focus heavily on self-determination, reclamation, and fighting for a better world. What is the one thing you would like to see people do after having heard the new album? Other than enjoy it.
Dustin: Be good to each other and stand up for yourselves and Fuck Facism forever.
PRT: The new album marks the first time you’ve worked with Kurt Ballou. What made him the right guy for this album? And where was his influence most notable?
Dustin: He was brought up, and immediately it was a yes for me. I’ve been a huge supporter of both his music with Converge and his production work since the 90s. He really helped us trim down the excess fat on these demos and was really able to capture our live energy onto a record.
PRT: More notable names come in the form of the guest contributions from Lamb Of God’s Randy Blythe on “Broken Mouths Can’t Speak” and The Red Chord’s Guy Kozowyk on “Humanity”. How did those collaborations come about and what made those songs perfect for them?
Dustin: Randy came in to help with vocals; he just kind of made up his mind while tracking broken mouths to sing on it. Guy is a long time friend and we just wanted him on something.
PRT: Detroit has a rich history of grit, industrial heritage, and uncompromising music. How much do you feel that local identity has informed your work ethic and attitude?
Dustin: It’s not an easy place to be a hardcore band, seeing that some of the greatest have come from there. So we just kept our heads down and pushed ourselves to honor the bands that helped us along the way
PRT: You came up in the late 90’s/early 00’s along with a slew of now legendary bands. Are there any new bands that you feel help carry the torch?
Dustin: Turnstile, Drain, Haywire, Pain in Truth, just to name a few. It seems like Hardcore is at a great place now, and there are amazing younger kids keeping it a safe space for everyone who want to come to shows and support the community.
PRT: After nearly three decades of Walls Of Jericho, what keeps the fire burning to hit the stage with the same fury you had when you just started out? And how much more stretching/recovery time is involved now?
Dustin: This band is fun in every aspect of the word, we all have fun together, on stage, in the studio, or wherever. The energy on stage has never changed and it never will, we all take pretty good care of ourselves so there are workouts and stretching daily on tour, I can’t imagine going on stage cold or not recovering with tiger balm. It’s crucial.
