The music is dark and doomy, as influenced by the sludge-caked riffs of Pantera as it is the industrial crunch of White Zombie, with a dose of whiskey-drenched vocals. "The first couple of years of being incarcerated in federal prison were probably the most dismal point of my life," Coones told Noisecreep.
But he made lemonade out of some pretty sour lemons. "I was sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiracy to distribute ephedrine, of which I actually spent over five and a half years inside. I had a lot of time to kill and I read every book I came across the first couple of years. After I was transferred to Oregon, I got inspired to pick up the guitar again and start playing music."
Thanks to a band program in the prison, Coones -- who started playing guitar at the age of nine -- was playing rock and blues with some of his fellow inmates. He said, "I was writing my own blues and rock songs and bringing them to the band." But it didn't last. A prison riot ensued, and he was transferred to a Texas prison to serve out the rest of his sentence, where he joined a new blues band.
"I started drop tuning my guitar into drop D and coming up these sick riffs that sounded so cool I couldn't get into the blues anymore," Coones said. "All my new material was drop tuned and heavy. I would sit in the prison yard and jam for hours on new riffs and write lyrics. It wasn't long before I started a new band and played all my songs along with some covers, some of the lyrics were a reflection of life inside. Songs like 'No Redemption' and 'Locked Down' speak of prison life. The song 'The Day is Comin'' is a protest against government, as well as the song 'Livin' in Oppression.'"
Some good things came out of Coones' incarceration and it was his musical creativity and productivity. He said, "This prison sentence was the most negative thing ever to happen to me, but if I didn't go to prison, I wouldn't have ever been inspired to play. The worse possible negative to happen to me in this life became the catalyst for my rebirth as a musician."
Coones admits that he drifted from his guitar when he was in his teens, trading his instrument for dirt bikes. He got his first Harley-Davidson at 19 and he became fully immersed in the cycle lifestyle, a culture which he remains very enmeshed in today. He became a Hells Angel in 1995, and he was arrested on drug conspiracy charges in 1999.
Besides writing music, he was supported by his wife, KO, and had an army of friends and boosters while behind bars. "Soon after my release I started looking for bandmates to bring my music to the streets," Coones said. "That was five and a half years ago. We have been honing our craft in rehearsal studios and playing gigs since."
Campos, whom Coones describes as "machine-gun fast," joined Attika 7 after completing his final tour with Static-X. While he also tours with Prong and Asesino, he likes to stay busy and get out of the house with other projects! "I wasn't really sure what I was going to do next," Campos told Noisecreep. "A few weeks later, I met the band's manager at a show. He emailed me the material and I thought it was cool. The following week, I met the guys and we got along great. Soon after, we started jamming."
Tony Campos has since been replaced by Evan Seinfeld (Biohazard).
There are not keyboards or programming in Attika 7 and there is only one guitarist, which is the main difference between this new project and his old one. Campos said, "Having only one guitar player that takes solos presents a new situation for me. I have to fill in parts where a rhythm guitar would normally be, so I'll kick in some distortion and play some chords on certain parts." He calls Attika 7 "straight up metal. It's not industrial metal, death metal or some other kind of fill in the blank metal. It's straightforward, no nonsense, 'put your head down and go' metal."
All Or Nothing
Attika 7 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hate and chaos are my best friends
Spill your blood I’m a primal breed
I’ll kill you all for all your fuckin greed
Life is a war
I’ll fight to the death
Rearranging all the pieces
It’s one for all and all or nothing
War torn world I’m never lyin’ down
It’s one for all and all for everything
Judge and jury are the noose
Of the hangman
Lock and load ‘em only the strong
Will survive
War Torn World
I’m never Lying down
The lyrics of Attika 7's song "All or Nothing" seem to convey a message of defiance and rebellion against a world that is full of chaos and violence. The opening lines, "Picking up all the scattered pieces, Hate and chaos are my best friends" suggest that the singer has experienced a lot of trauma and devastation in their life, which has led them to adopt a tough, warrior-like mentality. The lines that follow, "Spill your blood I’m a primal breed, I’ll kill you all for all your fuckin greed" reinforce this idea of aggression and a willingness to fight back against those who seek to harm the singer or take advantage of them.
The chorus, "Life is a war, I’ll fight to the death, Defend my own with all my blood, Rearranging all the pieces, It’s one for all and all or nothing, War torn world I’m never lyin’ down, It’s one for all and all for everything" captures the overarching theme of the song - the idea that life is a constant struggle, and that one must be prepared to fight tooth and nail to protect themselves and their loved ones. The singer seems to be speaking directly to their enemies here, telling them that they will never give up or back down, and that they will fight for what they believe in no matter what.
The final lines of the song, "Judge and jury are the noose, Of the hangman, Lock and load ‘em only the strong, Will survive, War Torn World, I’m never Lying down" reinforce this idea of resilience in the face of adversity. The singer seems to be saying that they have no respect for authority or institutions that are designed to keep people in line, and that they will only rely on their own strength and cunning to survive in a world that is full of hostility and danger.
Line by Line Meaning
Picking up all the scattered pieces
I am trying to collect the broken parts of myself and make sense of it all.
Hate and chaos are my best friends
I have become accustomed to living with negativity and destruction as a constant companion.
Spill your blood I'm a primal breed
I am capable of extreme violence and aggression to survive and protect what is mine.
I'll kill you all for all your fuckin greed
I am willing to do whatever it takes to eliminate those who are selfish and only care about themselves.
Life is a war
Every day is a battle for survival and self-preservation.
I'll fight to the death
I am willing to fight until my last breath to protect what is important to me.
Defend my own with all my blood
I will risk everything to protect the people I care about and the things that matter to me.
Rearranging all the pieces
I am trying to put together the broken parts of my life and make it whole again.
It’s one for all and all or nothing
We are all in this together, and we need to put everything on the line to succeed.
War torn world I’m never lyin’ down
Even in the face of great adversity and destruction, I will never give up or surrender.
Judge and jury are the noose
Of the hangman
Those in power have the ability to pass judgment and harm those they deem unworthy.
Lock and load 'em only the strong
Will survive
The only way to make it in this world is to be strong and capable of defending oneself.
Contributed by Amelia A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Sammi Danielson
Love this band and this song rocks :-)
Dillon Talley
Awsome song
Annamarie Jeronimo
i have so many great memories with the guys from this band haha
Jose Jaime
like to your piercing XD
mxlx95
Awesome song
Candy bar
Still rocks!
Basset Addict
SOA more true to real life than devils ride
Inunisin
Biohazard is missed. I’m very sad this is good but man I remember buying Evan a beer after a show, man life was so good then, skateboarding and concerts in the smaller venues.
𝔵𝔈𝔶𝔢𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔒𝔫𝔢𝔵
I loved this band in Dallas. Hope they fucking come back soon.
James Delaney
tig for ever....danger...power....strenth