A Dirty Dozen with MIKEY HAYES from FIGHT FROM WITHIN – September 2025

According to a recent press release: “Upstate New York band FIGHT FROM WITHIN are thrilled to announce the October 3 release of their new album TALK IS CHEAP. It arrives via TLG|ZOID/Virgin Music Group. Fight From Within were founded in Upstate New York in early 2021. Their sound lands at the intersection of metalcore, hardcore, and beatdown. With deeply diverse influences ranging from Bury Your Dead, Polaris, Evergreen Terrace, Emmure, Invent/Animate, Every Time I Die, and Attila, they have crafted their own distinct sound. In 2022, they began tracking new music with Pablo Viveros of Chelsea Grin. They have taken the stage at many key festivals, from Sonic Temple to The Gathering of the Juggles to Inkcarceration. The band is headed into 2026 like a freight train — all gas, no brakes. ” We get singer Mikey to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Our latest release was a split collaboration between us and Saving Vice. If they were to listen to the originals, they would see subtle differences between both songs. I would say there’s a few.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a performer of some kind. Then I saw the Mudvayne LD 50 Live in Peoria DVD and I instantly knew what I wanted to do.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Honestly, there’s just so many. I would say “JFC” and the Continent album by The Acacia Strain. One of my favorite concerts I ever went to was the Pledge of Allegiance tour with System of a Down and Slipknot.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Chad Gray because he’s my idol.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

I play a lot of video games, but mostly I do all my social media work now.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Aggressive tough guy Metalcore. I never had the comparison I thought it was cringe.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Jon cooks, no one is cracking an acoustic guitar, Tim and Christian are drinking.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Meeting Corey Taylor at Inkcarceration.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

I think the best part of being a musician is teaching other people how to follow their dreams and making an impact on people. I would be a drug counselor if I wasn’t doing this.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I really never had a specific question I wanted to ask, and I also am not tired of any questions that I’ve been asked.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I don’t think there’s a single thing I would change.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

It would be Continent by The Acacia Strain, it was my favorite album growing up in the genre.

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Category: Interviews