False

True or False? Louisville's Kings of Metal are Definitely: FALSE

By Jason Koerner. Photos By James Moses

What a great band...

There are few things that you can speak negatively about when it comes to Louisville's Kings of Metal, False.

The band is tighter, heavier and more respected than any band I know in the scene. And they are really nice guys, to boot.

The band got its start back in July 1999. Later that year, in September, they played their first show in Louisville at Pandemonium. The show drew a crowd of approximately 400 people, which is a major feat for a debut show. The band has come along even farther since those days, opening for acts such as Hatebreed, the Misfits, Superjoint Ritual, Flaw, Morbid Angel, Today is the Day, Brand New Sin, Primer 55 and more.

The current lineup features Shannon Feese on vocals, Chris Eli on lead guitar, Chad Omen on bass, JR Switzer on drums and Gezuz on guitar. Yes, Gezuz.

This finalized lineup was put in place after a much-needed change involving a lazy bass player was replaced by Gezuz, who they knew from parties and friends. The band then wanted to thicken their sound, so Gezuz (who originally was a guitar player) moved to second guitar and Chad was brought in on bass. These shifts took place around six months ago and the band is much tighter as a result of it.

False's style is most similar to that of heavy metal legends Pantera. With howling lead guitar solos by Chris Eli that wail to the tune of Dimebag Darrell, the band shares the dynamic stylistic closeness with a band worth imitating. False carries a sound all their own, however, one that is recognizable to anyone in the 502 scene. The band has built the respect level and recognition that they have acquired thus far because of this sound only to be described as "HabllalaXcintablaH."

Besides Pantera, band's musical influences include Slayer, Morbid Angel, Sepultura and, of course, Old Metallica. (You can't be in a metal band in Kentucky without kicking it to Old Skool' Metallica!)

When asked about the best and worst shows they have had, Shannon points to the show at the Crunch Zone in which JR took a bad blow to the head in the mosh pit. He kept playing despite his dizziness, but it was sore the next morning, no doubt. A better memory for the band was playing with Hatebreed, which I can say was a great performance from the band, having been in attendance. Shannon could be a stunt-double for Hatebreed vocalist, Jamey Jasta, if he tried.

I spoke with False after their performance at the Misfits show at Tek World and asked them some questions to help us get to know the band a little better. Their responses jolted back and forth between band members (and Pete from Delta 9 Theory), so their individual responses were reduced to one voice labeled "False." You can make your own assumptions about who actually said what if you know the band...

The pit at a False Show

LMN - What the f**k is HabllalaXcintablaH?

False - It's what you get when you get real intoxicated at the practice spot while you're jamming and you ain't got a name for a song, you create something that you'll remember. It means whatever you want. The formal meaning is: when you are sitting around a group of people and somebody says something stupid, everybody just shuts up and you say "HabllalaXcintablaH" to repent for what you just said that was stupid to bring you back up to the level of coolness that you were before. When you are outcast, you have to say that to redeem yourself. (The band then tried to perform an impromptu scene based on the catch phrase, but quickly realized their talents lie in music, not theater.)

LMN - Where does the name "False" come from?

False - We were looking through a thesaurus trying to pick out names. We had a few, but that one just seemed more metal - and more than anything, we wanted to be a metal band. Our music is a representation of things in the world that are `false' like the government and Pete.

Shannon

LMN - What is your "dream show" lineup and location? Any combination of national or local Acts...

False - We already know the first band that is going to be on there - Slayer! Cannibal Corpse, Sepultura... Madison Square Garden (Shannon argues) Amsterdam, Holland! We have our own personal reasons for that choice.

LMN - OK, this is the part where I am going to get you all to hate me and each other... I want you to tell me an unknown fact about someone else in the band... no one can speak for themselves.

False - Our guitarist, Chris Eli, is a 4.0 student at U of L Speed School for Computer Science. He's an intelligent m*f*r. JR has a puke fetish. He told me when he was drunk! Shannon's favorite band is Pearl Jam. His second favorite band is Cannibal Corpse. Chad is the biggest whore in the band. He is a Man-Whore. (Nobody said anything for Gezuz, so he told his own lesser-known fact about himself. He has a daughter named Brooklyn, who is 2 years, 8 months.)

JR

LMN - What is responsible for getting each of you into music?

False - (Shannon) I've been a music fan my whole life, but when I started listening to Pearl Jam, I knew that is what I wanted to do. I used to go watch Chris and JR jam all the time, doing Metallica covers. I stepped in to their cover band, which I was happy about because I was one of their biggest fans. (Gezuz) I used to get up every morning before school in 7^th grade and watch Guns N' Roses videos. (Shannon tells the true story that he used to have dreams about Van Halen's David Lee Roth days and wake up with morning wood.) (Chris Eli) I have been playing guitar for over 12 years. I've been jamming ever since.

LMN - At some point in your career, you had to realize that things were going very well for you as a band. You are opening for national acts frequently and your shows go over very well... What was that point that triggered you into thinking something big was happening?

False - I think it was our first show at Pandemonium. We knew we enjoyed music before, but after that show... it was different. All of our friends came from Bullitt County. They were close to shutting that place down but shows like ours kept it going for a few more months. (As mentioned earlier, there were approximately 400 people in attendance.) After the Incursion502 benefit show at Shockers (a show to aid the band after their equipment was stolen) everyone (in the scene) just came together like a family.

LMN - What is your number one complaint about the scene?

False - People are not open-minded enough to respect music as an art form. Even if they don't like the style of music that you are playing they should at least appreciate it. If you are coming to the shows, you should appreciate it, even if the talent lacks or whatever, at least they are giving an effort to do something positive with their life in an artistic way. (Other responses included the lack of radio support, advertisement and lack of venues.) I think that at 5:02 p.m. everyday the radio stations should play one song by a local area band.

LMN - What would you do if you won the lottery?

False - I would buy pounds of bud! Once a week I would have Pearl Jam and Cannibal Corpse play at my house. I would buy a Taco Bell. I'd buy that dream drum set I've been waiting for. I go through with some contract killings. All I care about is smoking weed.

LMN - Are there any discussions going on with labels right now? Would you like to get signed at some point, or do you have objections to getting signed?

False - It would be cool to get signed, but right now we are just trying to write the baddest music ever. We hope it happens though. We've heard rumors the last six months, but we take it with a grain of salt.

LMN - What is in the future for False?

False - We are thinking about releasing an EP, maybe four songs. The radio has wanted to play new s**t. We have some songs to choose from, but I think we have our four picked out already. We're going to fine tune them and talk about some overdub parts, make them complete. Within three months, people should be able to hear something new on the radio and a little later be able to buy the CD. We'll have it for cheap too, probably five bucks. We're proud of our new music. We are going to record at Canyon again with Chris Cassetta. This is actually the first music we have written with the two guitars and Chad on bass.

LMN - How do you guys keep it fresh? You already talked about the lack of venues, so it can't be the scenery change. Do you do a lot of shows out of town or what?

False - We feed off the crowd. We have fun anyway because we all just like to get up there and headbang and we try to be as energetic as we can be. Bottom line, we like to have fun. It keeps it fresh when you can get the crowd involved in it as much as you can. That's the good thing about HabllalaXcintablaH. Even though it is something goofy... When the same kids come out night after night and spend their money to come see you and make their own tee-shirts of you and come just to see us... that makes it worth it right there.

LMN - If you could change one thing in the band's past, what would it be?

False - Damn, that's pretty intense. (A small debate goes on about a potential answer. The final agreement is ... nothing.) If we changed anything about our past, we would not be who we are today. We owe it to our personal turmoil. We had to fight our own battles and s**t and if it weren't for that stuff, we probably wouldn't have our outlook on life the way that we do now.

LMN - Is there a new web site coming out anytime soon?

False - We hope so. I'm going to start the mailing list again to keep people informed. (All those who are interested in joining the False mailing list should email Shannon at habllalaxcintablah@hotmail.com.) We will keep them updated through that and the web page will come soon.

LMN - What about new merchandise? What is available now?

False - Our last shirts sucked because they got f****d up in the printhouse. We are actually thinking about printing shirts with our original logo, it's real metal looking ... We have another one that is going to be on our CD that we are proud of.

LMN - What shows do you have coming up in and after December?

False - We are playing Metal Fest at Tek World on Saturday, December 14. In January, we are doing the Battle of the Cover Bands (go to www.tekworldshows.com for more information).

LMN - Can you give any insight to what you are going to be covering at that contest?

False - I know we will be covering Slayer (and if it is anything like the Misfits show, the audience is going to go crazy when they do...) Pantera, Sepultura...

LMN - So you guys are taking it seriously, no Hansen or anything?

False - We play to win! We might do a Pearl Jam cover too, just for me. Nothing gay. You will never hear Creed come out of our instruments. They are my least favorite band ever. Aren't we doing that one show, Ozzfest too?

LMN - Anything else to say to Louisville?

False - Get your ass to a False show! Put the paper down and go out to a False show. Support the scene, all these metal bands out here that bust their ass week after week. Just come out and give it a chance, you'll see some really good musicians. If you come to the show and you like the band, but the CD, buy their shirts, support them. Wear a shirt to the mall, let people see it. Promote the bands you like, talk about them. (False wanted to mention that Incursion502 was like a brother to them and give them props for all the help they have given them.) Pass out flyers... there a bunch of cool people in this scene and in the bands. Let's take over the world! 502 domination...

LMN - Thanks guys...

False - Thank you...

To wrap up, I just would like to reemphasize how talented this band is and how much they support the scene. They are one of the few bands that stays off the message boards and out of the drama They speak very positively of almost everyone in every situation and their goals are very simple and clear. Have fun, play music, rock out. Isn't that why we all started? Let False be an inspiration to us all, that we may hopefully have a similar amount of success and respect. It is no accident that fans love them. - JK

You can pick up their CD, Shrapnel, at one of their shows for five bucks. The CD features tracks such as "Corporate America," "HabllalaXcintablaH" and "Servants of a Broken God."