Metal band 10 Years works hard, stays relevant

Being famous isn’t always easy. Sometimes staying relevant requires you to hang on for dear life.

The guys in the Tennessee-based heavy metal act 10 Years know that: The band’s lineup has changed quite a few times since its formation in 1999, and vocalist Jesse Hasek has seen a lot of touring musicians come and go.

“We keep a big swinging door policy on the creative side of things,” Hasek said. “There’s no bad blood – it’s just that we get older, families happen and the touring side of things can be tough. … But when we write and create in Knoxville, everybody still pops in and out and throws their two cents into it. So it’s really kind of a big collective effort with the old and the new.”

But Hasek wasn’t a founding member of the group; he didn’t become a permanent fixture of the band until 2002. In fact, he was often on the same bills as 10 Years during their early years, albeit in a different band.

“I was in another band, and we would play at the same clubs that (10 Years) would be playing at,” Hasek explained. “They were kind of the big guys of the local unsigned scene, where we all were striving to slowly grow and progress. They were the band that locally had built a name for themselves.”

When 10 Years’ original vocalist, Mike Underdown, left the group, Hasek replaced him, but he wanted to be sure he wasn’t simply copying the guy who came before him.

“I was a fan of their original lineup and their first singer … so to fill those shoes and to come in and change that sound was a little nerve-wracking,” he said. “But we all helped each other develop into another band. … My stipulation when I got into it was that I didn’t want to do what he did. So when I got into the band, we kind of started fresh. The only thing we kept was the band name.”

10 Years’ newest album, “From Birth to Burial,” is the band’s second independently produced LP since they parted ways with Universal Records following 2010’s “Feeding the Wolves.” The indie production gave the band more creative control over their songs, which range from big, dramatic headbangers to intricate, delicate ballads.

“With each record we try to create something different than the last,” Hasek said. “Sometimes it can be a journey that happens real naturally and organically, and other times it can kind become a bit of a fight.”

The album’s title is meant as an evocation of its lyrical themes about the fickle nature of fame: Even though 10 Years is still going strong, success can be a fleeting thing, and Hasek realizes that.

“It touches a lot on the anxiety and frustrations and ups and downs of this business,” he said. “You have to stay relevant, you have to compete … and it can really start to put a burden on you. We just try to speak our minds, and vocally and melodically I wanted to just purge it out like a confessional.”