INTERVIEW: Nathan Johnson of Fox Lake Breaks Down "New World Heat"

It’s always a big plus when a record completely catches me off guard; when it hits harder, weirder, and more intentionally than you even hoped. That’s what happened the first time I listened to New World Heat, the new album from Denver, Colorado based metal band Fox Lake.

photo credit: https://www.instagram.com/dreamofmirrorsphotos/

Nathan Johnson, Fox Lake’s frontman and lyricist, sat down with me to dig into everything from his classical music background to the record’s undercurrent of political unrest, burnout, and self-confrontation. What emerged was a surprisingly introspective conversation that pulled as much from country music as it did from metalcore.

“So much of the time, especially with metal… I think you lose a little bit of the artistic intentionality that comes with some other bands that like Knocked Loose does really well. And even Spiritbox does really well.” Nathan told me, referencing the tone he wanted to set right away on New World Heat. “I wanted to start the record with a sample that gave a lens to view the record in that is further than just the surface depth of nu-metal and fast and hardcore or whatever.”

From the first seconds of “For the Love of the Game,” the tone is set: you're not going to just bang your head—you’re going to have to face some shit, too. There's anger on this record, but it's not aimless. There’s structure to the chaos. And like Nathan said, there’s urgency.

“I think the urgency of feeling like you're in trouble… like there's been a problem, but we're at a point where we have to act—I think that is definitely a big theme.”

Even in the more aggressive or vitriolic tracks—like “Freestyle,” a defiant anthem for every band told they didn’t fit into any one genre, the messaging is clear: we’re done second-guessing ourselves. And the band’s growth shows.

“This song needs to be like, I'm doing it my way. I'm doing it freestyle. And I know it's good. And I know it's locked in. And I know other people like it. So stay mad.”

He laughs as he says it, but it doesn’t come off cocky. If anything, it feels like someone finally choosing clarity over compromise. New World Heat is filled with these small moments where Fox Lake embraces the weirdness and the weight at the same time. The riffs are chunkier, the production is slicker, and their hybrid of metalcore, nu-metal, hardcore, and rap finally feels like it’s fused into something entirely theirs.

There’s even a piano interlude halfway through the record because yeah, Nathan’s also a classically trained jazz pianist.

“Being the vocalist of like a nu-metal band… I love jazz and I love classical and I love music theory. When I'm home, that's my job—I play and teach piano. So being able to put something that I'm good at instrumentally in there is fun for me.”

It doesn’t feel forced. If anything, it breaks the album in two, the way intermissions used to split double-LP records. Then it’s right back to pummeling breakdowns and explosive choruses. I asked Nathan if that was the whole point—to knock you off balance just enough before bringing you back in.

“Yeah, it felt like that was something we had done in the past and we wanted to really incorporate more of that… like, how can we bring that to a new generation or a new style of nu-metal?”

This record is, in many ways, a mirror. Sometimes it’s a fuck you to industry gatekeepers (“Freestyle,” “Go for the Throat”), other times it turns inward. One of the album’s highlights, “Tough Luck,” tackles a different kind of frustration.

“Sometimes you do everything right, like you do your taxes right, and you still get punished. Or you can climb the corporate ladder and somebody's still going to screw you over… maybe I’m doing it to myself, you know?”

There’s no filler here. Even the 1:19 burst of “Real Fast” feels essential. And by the time you hit the final tracks like “Savior,” a searing indictment of social decay and political complicity, you’ve been through something. Not just a breakdown-heavy album, but a reflection on everything we’re trying to survive.

At one point I asked Nathan point blank: “Was that kind of like where your headspace was at overarchingly with the record?”

“Exactly. The quote that I wrote for the record once it was finished... the main idea for me is the idea that action begets action and inaction begets inaction. Socially, politically, internally with yourself, relationally in your own life—like, take the step. Do the thing.”

New World Heat is out now. Stream it wherever you get music, but maybe listen with the lyrics pulled up. You might find yourself asking some questions you weren’t planning to. And that’s kind of the point.
Physical copies of CDs, vinyl, and merch for the album can be found at the MNRK Heavy website.
Tracklisting: