Matthew Ian Fox (born April 28, 1973) is an American musician, founding member and a current lead guitarist for the

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band

Shai Hulud Shai Hulud is an American metalcore band formed in Pompano Beach, Florida, in 1995, and later based in Poughkeepsie, New York. The band is named after the giant sandworms in Frank Herbert's novel ''Dune''. The two mainstay members of Shai Hul ...

and his side project

Zombie Apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack hum ...

. Fox writes the most of the Shai Hulud's musical and lyrical output. He has also played guitar in many other rock bands, like

Planet X Following the discovery of the planet Neptune in 1846, there was considerable speculation that another planet might exist beyond its orbit. The search began in the mid-19th century and continued at the start of the 20th with Percival Lowell's ...

, The Murrychesstoes, The One Eyed Kings, Unwillful Demise, S.F.B and Bingo Mut.

Metalcore term

Fox is credited with popularising the "

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

" term in the late 1990s/early 2000s, identifying bands like

Earth Crisis Earth Crisis is an American hardcore punk band from Syracuse, New York, active from 1989 until 2001, reuniting in 2007. Since 1993 the band's longest serving members are vocalist Karl Buechner, lead guitarist Scott Crouse, bassist Ian Edwards ...

Deadguy Deadguy is an American metalcore band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. The band formed in 1994 and disbanded in 1997. Deadguy is considered to have played an important role in the development of the mathcore genre, their sole studio album ''Fixatio ...

and

Integrity Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Inte ...

as metalcore bands, even calling Shai Hulud a metalcore band back then as a

tongue-in-cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott ...

term with his friends. However, in some interviews, he has stated that he no longer considers Shai Hulud a metalcore band, since the term "has lost its original meaning", i.e.

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

bands with a "heavier" sound. Fox called the genre "trite" and "shallow music", "made by people that imitate it rather than love it". As of 2015, he refers to Shai Hulud's sound as "Shai Hulud Unincorporated".

Ides of March and At Dawn We Wage War

In 1999, Fox founded the independent record label Ides of March, releasing music by bands like

Glasseater Glasseater was a post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. ...

, Brother's Keeper and Poison the Well. Fox secured an exclusive distribution deal through

Revelation Records Revelation Records is an independent record label focusing originally and primarily on hardcore punk. The label is known for releases by bands such as Youth of Today, Warzone, Sick of It All, Quicksand, Side By Side, Chain of Strength, Shelte ...

, to which his band Shai Hulud was already signed. Ides of March was originally scheduled to release Shai Hulud side-projects like A New Found Glory, Boddicker and re-issues of obscure Shai Hulud material, but shifted instead to releasing music by close friends. In early 2003, after having put out twelve releases as Ides of March, Fox changed the name of the record label to At Dawn We Wage War, announcing the release of a Shai Hulud compilation. The label however only released a handful of things under the new name and by 2005, it had faded out. The Shai Hulud compilation evolved into '' A Comprehensive Retrospective: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Release Bad and Useless Recordings'', released directly through Revelation Records in 2005.

Personal life

Although Fox practices a drug- and alcohol-free lifestyle, he is not part of the

straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, thi ...

movement, as stated in many interviews. Fox's favorite group is the

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. He also has been influenced by many other

metallic hardcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use o ...

, thrash metal, punk rock and

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

bands. Fox has stated that he suffers from

coulrophobia The evil clown is a subversion of the traditional comic clown character, in which the playful trope is instead depicted in a more disturbing nature through the use of horror elements and dark humor. The modern archetype of the evil clown was ...

, a fear of

clown A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in ...

s. Fox also has an extreme love for

the Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...

, stating that Kermit is his favorite.

Bands

* Evilalive – drums (1990–1991) * Planet X – drums (1991) * The Murrychesstoes – drums, guitar (1991–1992) * Bingo Mut – drums (1993–1994) * Unwillful Demise (1994) *

Strongarm The StrongARM is a family of computer microprocessors developed by Digital Equipment Corporation and manufactured in the late 1990s which implemented the ARM v4 instruction set architecture. It was later acquired by Intel in 1997 from DEC's o ...

– drums (1994, 2000 Live) * The One-eyed Kings – bass (1995) * S.F.B *

Tension Tension may refer to: Science * Psychological stress * Tension (physics), a force related to the stretching of an object (the opposite of compression) * Tension (geology), a stress which stretches rocks in two opposite directions * Voltage or el ...

– bass (1993) * The Day It Rained on Aracus *

– lead guitar, backup vocals (1995–present) *

New Found Glory New Found Glory (formerly A New Found Glory) is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida, formed in 1997. The band currently consists of Jordan Pundik (lead vocals), Ian Grushka (bass guitar), Chad Gilbert (lead guitar, backing vocal ...

– fill in guitar (1998) *

(formerly called "Boddicker") – guitar (1998, 2003–present)

Discography

* The Murrychesstoes - First demo (1991) * The Murrychesstoes - Second demo (1992) * Unwillful Demise - ''Unsigned Iii Killing Time'' Compilation (1994) #

"Nuclear Door" * Bingo Mut - Demo (1994) * Bingo Mut - ''The Meanest Man'' EP (1995) #"Stop the Bus It's Russell Epstein" - 3:22 #"I Can Own the World" - 2:22 #"Amir Bacollie" - 2:13 #"I'm Done" - 2:27 * Bingo Mut - Unreleased EP (1995) *

- 1995 Demo (1995) * Shai Hulud - 1996 Demo (1996) #"For the World" - 3:02 #"This Wake I Myself Have Stirred" - 2:54 #"Hardly" - 3:28 * Shai Hulud - ''

A Profound Hatred of Man ''A Profound Hatred of Man'' is an extended play by hardcore punk band Shai Hulud, released on February 18, 1997, on the independent label Crisis Records. In 2006, Revelation Records released a remastered version of the album which also include ...

'' EP (1997) * Shai Hulud - ''

Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion ''Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion'' is the first full-length album by American hardcore punk band Shai Hulud, released on November 4, 1997, on Crisis Records. ''Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion'' received positive rev ...

'' (1997) * Shai Hulud - '' The Fall of Every Man'' (Split with Indecision, 1998) * Boddicker - Demo (1998) * Shai Hulud - ''

A Whole New Level of Sickness ''A Whole New Level of Sickness'' is a split Extended play, EP featuring songs by hardcore punk bands Shai Hulud (band), Shai Hulud and Another Victim, released on June 27, 2000, on Trustkill Records and, in Europe, Good Life Recordings, in CD an ...

'' Split with Another Victim (1999) * Shai Hulud - ''

Crush 'Em All Vol. 1 ''Crush 'Em All Vol. 1'' is a split EP by hardcore punk bands Boysetsfire and Shai Hulud, released on March 24, 2000, on Undecided Records, 7" purple (25 press), grey (475 press), clear red (500 press), and Detroit Fest press black (#'d out of 30 ...

'' (Split with Boy Sets Fire, 2000) *

Further Seems Forever Further Seems Forever is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Pompano Beach, Florida. Over its initial eight-year run the band experienced several lineup changes, resulting in a different lead vocalist performing on each of their first three s ...

- ''

The Moon is Down ''The Moon Is Down'' is a novel by American writer John Steinbeck. Fashioned for adaptation for the theatre and for which Steinbeck received the Norwegian King Haakon VII Freedom Cross, it was published by Viking Press in March 1942. The story ...

'' #

"Just Until Sundown" - 3:14 * Shai Hulud - ''

That Within Blood Ill-Tempered ''That Within Blood Ill-Tempered'' is the second studio album by hardcore punk band Shai Hulud. It was released on May 20, 2003, through Revelation Records on CD and 300 pressings on LP format. A picture disc was released through Matt Fox's At ...

'' (2003) *

- ''

This is a Spark of Life ''This is a Spark of Life'' is an EP by American crossover thrash/metalcore band Zombie Apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or ...

'' (2003) * Zombie Apocalypse - ''

Tales Told by Dead Men ''Tales Told by Dead Men'' is a split album by English crossover thrash band Send More Paramedics and American crossover thrash/metalcore band Zombie Apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to ove ...

'' (Split with

Send More Paramedics Send More Paramedics is an English zombie film-influenced crossover thrash band from Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. They are named after a line in the film ''Return of the Living Dead''. Biography The name is a reference to a line in the 198 ...

, 2005) * Shai Hulud - ''Great Worm'' (2006 Demo) #"To Bear the Brunt of Many Blades" - 3:45 #"We Who Finish Last" - 3:15 #"If A Mountain be my Obstacle" 3:22 * Shai Hulud - '' A Comprehensive Retrospective: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Release Bad and Useless Recordings'' (2006) * Shai Hulud - ''

Misanthropy Pure ''Misanthropy Pure'' is the third studio album by hardcore punk band Shai Hulud, released on May 26, 2008 in Europe (except in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, where it arrived on May 30) and May 27 in the U.S.Not Without a Heart Once Nourished by Sticks and Stones Within Blood Ill-Tempered Misanthropy Pure Gold Can Stay ''Not Without a Heart Once Nourished by Sticks and Stones Within Blood Ill-Tempered Misanthropy Pure Gold Can Stay'' is a split EP by pop punk band New Found Glory and hardcore punk band Shai Hulud. This limited edition EP was only available at sh ...

'' (Split with

, 2009) * Shai Hulud - ''

Reach Beyond the Sun ''Reach Beyond the Sun'' is the fourth studio album by hardcore punk band Shai Hulud (band), Shai Hulud, released on February 15, 2013 in Europe and on February 19 in the U.S. through Metal Blade Records. It has been met with positive reviews. Tr ...

'' (2013) * Shai Hulud - ''Just Can't Hate Enough'' (2015)

References

External links

Matt Fox
on Myspace * AllMusic.com profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Matt 1973 births Living people People from Smithtown, New York Songwriters from New York (state) American heavy metal guitarists American punk rock guitarists Guitarists from New York (state) 21st-century American guitarists Shai Hulud members Tension (hardcore band) members