Hit Parader: If you had to choose three songs, albums, artists, or even non-musical forms of media like books or shows or something that played some form of influence or some role in the creation of this record on your end, what do you think that would boil down to?
1. Everything Everywhere All at Once
Rob Damiani: I’d say one thing is that we’ve always had this mentality, or I have always had this mentality, of trying to create something fresh while still honoring the influences and the references that inspire you to do what you do. Like any artist, sometimes you lose faith in yourself, or you question, are you on the path you set for yourself? Are you happy? Are you approaching it in the right way? One of my favorite films of the last few years was ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ That was one of those films that was very affirming for me. I love action movies, martial arts movies, philosophy, comedy, all these very disparate things that don’t always sit well with each other. Somehow, they created this super enjoyable, funny, but very emotionally led, thought-provoking film that brought all these crazy things that I love about film and media, and encapsulated them in a very original film. It was one of those things where I was like, ‘This is fucking awesome, I’ve never seen anything like this.’ I would love for people to hear a Don Broco song and get that response in any small way. If anyone could feel even a glimpse of what I felt watching that film, to have all these things in a movie, then I think I’m achieving what I want to do. A lot of the songs and records bring different ideas, themes, and feelings. For me, that is what the human experience is about. It is about experiencing all the crazy shit, all the different feelings that come with being a human on this planet, rather than boxing yourself into one thing. That film, for me, was like, ‘They can do it here, I’m going to give it a go and try and do it within our album.’ Whenever you have that worry and doubt, ‘Are we doing the right thing?’ I think back to how great that movie made me feel, and then I go for it even harder.
2. Toxicity by System of a Down
RD: More musically, I’d say going back to one of the first albums that really stuck with me and influenced a big part of who Don Broco are was System of a Down’s ‘Toxicity.’ It is still a phenomenal record. You still put it on, it still feels so urgent and so fresh. Again, similar to the movie, it is hella fun, it is crazy, the lyrics are nuts, there is some weird shit in there that probably doesn’t make any sense, and there are also a load of very important lyrics about politics and what it is to be a human, and very spiritual songs. Somehow, they are all in there, and it works. I knew all the words, and I’d sing along, but I wasn’t thinking as much then. I was a kid when it came out, really young. It was one of the first records I went down to buy as a CD with my friend. I remember we put it on in my room and just listened to it three times in a row, our minds being blown. Going back to it, it is still just as amazing as it was then, and a lot of the lyrical themes are still just as relevant now as they were then. They nailed it on so many levels. It is a super varied album, but still really identifiable as System of a Down. That was the album that really launched them and catapulted them. When you think of System of a Down and what their sound is, you can find all of that in different forms within that record. That is a big influence on me in general, but also on this album. As a band as well, seeing how thick it is after all these years, they seem now like the biggest they’ve ever been. Seeing some of the shows they were doing in South America, it is insane, hundreds of thousands of people moving like an organism. It is crazy. It is really cool to see something that you love so much reaching another fan base as well. A lot of people are discovering them now for the first time, which is so cool.
3. The First Law by Joe Abercrombie
RD: A third one; there is this author called Joe Abercrombie. I’ve just been reading his series, the first trilogy is called ‘The First Law.’ I was not reading as much as I could because I love reading, but I’m just pretty lazy. Unless I’m on holiday and have nothing to do, I’m so easily distracted. There is so much good TV around, so much doom scrolling to be done. You get to a point in the day, and you’re like, ‘Okay, I’m tired now, I’m going to read a book.’ Holidays, I’ve been really trying to, every time I go on a little holiday, kickstart the next book, and then that takes me through. I really recommend ‘The First Law’ trilogy as the starting point. Even if you’re not into fantasy novels, because it is set in this fantasy world, if you imagine a Game of Thrones-esque land, it is at the turn of the introduction of industry. You’re coming out of this fantastical pseudo-medieval world with magic and this and that flying around, and it is like, what happens when the industrial revolution begins, and how does that affect the world? That is the backdrop, but the character development is just so awesome. The duality between people, every character in it goes on such a journey. I wouldn’t say this is a blanket rule and this won’t ruin every character, but in the same way as in Game of Thrones and any sort of post–Breaking Bad TV show, if there is a main character that doesn’t go on a bit of a character development, whether he starts good and then does some questionable things, or starts the villain and redeems himself, it is really interesting how people and humans are capable of so much good and so much bad at the same time. The choices they make and the decisions they make, whether for right or wrong, can take them down certain paths.
This overall feeling is that life is so fragile and can so easily be taken away for a variety of reasons. In the books, people are getting killed left, right, and center through fights and wars and this and that, but in general, you take real life, it is a celebration, but at the same time, you’re living in this misery, but at the same time, all this great stuff is happening. It is basically about a world of contradictions. I was finding myself taking photos of lines and copying bits and writing them down, being like, ‘That’s a sick idea for a song,’ taking pages of notes of reference points to build into a song or various lyrics, various bits in the book of cool lines to steal. I wouldn’t say any of them really made it into the record, maybe one or two. I think the general themes of the duality of people and the world being a shitty, dark place, but still good things can happen, is reflected in quite a lot of the lyrics in these songs. I’m still reading a new one of his books and writing down bits in case they come in useful. It is hard when you’ve got a load of melody ideas and a song, and then you’ve got this really cool lyric you want to fit in, but it doesn’t, and it just derails the song.
Listen to Nightmare Tripping by Don Broco out now.
Read the full article in Issue 5 of Hit Parader Magazine.
Hit Parader #5: Sleep Token
May 2026 — $12.99
