Bionic Buzz® got to interview M.C.U.D. (Jared Gomes) lead singer of the band (Hed) P.E. over zoom. We talked to him about where his passion for music came from, memories of Strangeland 98 Tour / Lynn Straight from Snot during that time and (Hed) P.E.’s new album Class of 2020. Including our favorite tracks of it “Nothing Lasts 4ever (The Ballad of C19)” and “First Blood.”

Album drops Aug 21st! Info on the album can be found below.

Legendary SoCal artists (Hed) P.E. are ready to release their twelfth studio album, “Class of 2020”, set to drop on August 21st, 2020 via legendary Californian independent label, Suburban Noize Records. The date marks the 20th anniversary of the group’s breakthrough album, “Broke”.

Just a year after rejoining forces with legendary California independent label Suburban Noize Records for the release of their eleventh studio album “Stampede” in 2019, (Hed) P.E. have revealed details including the art and tracklisting for their upcoming new album “Class of 2020”.

“We were on the road in the middle of a tour when the COVID-19 pandemic hit full force. Like everyone else on the planet, we were faced with some unprecedented challenges. As a small business owner of an independent band, I was faced with an additional set of challenges with the tour being canceled and making it back home from Rhode Island to Idaho. When I got home, I immediately got inspired creatively and hit the studio to smash out this record,” commented frontman Jared Gomes. “For this one, we took it all back to our roots with a back-to-basics approach to try and capture that true G-Punk sound of our earlier albums.”

For “Class of 2020” the band is stripped down to the raw essentials utilizing old-school punk-rock guitar tones and aggressive, unfiltered vocal stylings that have become an integral part of (Hed) P.E.’s trademark sound. “Class of 2020” is a return to the classic sound of early (Hed) P.E. albums.

“Many of these tracks brought me to tears; sorry but its true. I just tried to lay down some heartfelt shit and tried to honor old punk rock,” recounts Jared. “I’m sick of that slick overproduced metal sound right now. I listened to bands like Minor Threat, Bad Brains, The Clash, Social Distortion, the classic punk and hardcore bands. Those bands went in recorded raw and tried to capture the energy of the music. I felt like with this album we needed something raw and something that wasn’t completely processed.”

“Class of 2020” shapeshifts sonically between metal, punk, hip-hop and infusions of reggae. Opening with the banging Refused style riffage of “First Blood”, the song sets the tone for the record as Jared sounds like a rabid dog that’s been unchained as he fires off on colonialism and its effect on modern day life and culture. “Nothing Lasts 4ever (The Ballad of C19)” channels the drunken lullabies of Dropkick Murphys as a direct response to the stay at home order of this current pandemic. “Death Awaits” channels the guitar tones of classic (Hed) P.E. and “Greedy Girl” was inspired by the new school hip-hop flavor Lil Peep’s “Beamer Boy” and chronicles a woman that is confident enough to know what she wants and doesn’t feel guilty about going after it.

In an effort to bring “Class of 2020” around full circle and connect it with (Hed) P.E’s impressive back catalog, the album is set for release on August 21st, which also marks the 20th anniversary of the group’s breakthrough album “Broke”. While planning to the milestone anniversary for (Hed) P.E, Jared was able to connect with former members DJ Product and original guitarist Chad “Chizad” Benekos and rekindle their creative flame. DJ Product created the artwork for the album and added his trademark scratching over some tracks, while Chizad blessed the band with a blazing guitar solo on “Greedy Girl”. The unholy union that man fans never thought possible, connected the past and present incarnations of (Hed) P.E to enhance “Class of 2020” in a meaningful way.

When discussing the album, Jared talks about the moniker “Class of 2020” having dual meaning for him and the band. “I had the title ‘Class of 2020’ as a working title for some time now. We had made hoodies with the Class of 2020 on them, but it was originally intended to be a statement about the band being here 20-years later. A whole new Class of (Hed) P.E. so to speak,” he reveals. “Once the pandemic broke out this title took on a new profound meaning. The Class of 2020 never really graduated. The Class of 2020 will go down in history for several different reasons.”

(Hed) P.E. are the pioneers of the G-Punk sound, which fuses together punk-rock, metal, hip-hop and reggae. For over two decades, the band has toured the world alongside hard rock chart-toppers like Godsmack and Linkin Park, hardcore legends Suicidal Tendencies, as well as the iconic Ozzfest Tour. (Hed) P.E. enjoyed a creative resurgence after signing with Suburban Noize Records in the early 2000s and was instrumental in helping to develop the booming underground scene performing on sold-out tours with Tech N9ne, and labelmates the Kottonmouth Kings.

Stream their single “Death Awaits” at https://fanlink.to/deathawaits

Order Album Bundles or Merch at: https://shop.srh.com/collections/hed-p-e-class-of-2020

Keep in touch at https://www.facebook.com/hedpe/