DANIEL HOLLOWAY — BECOMING FATAL Exclusive Interview with 10 Out Of 10 Magazine — Part 2

The second half of our conversation with Daniel Holloway continues his story of returning to music after 15 years, embracing new technology, collaborating internationally, building FATAL independently, and defining what success means to him.

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AI & THE FUTURE OF MUSIC

25. We noticed that AI has entered part of your musical experimentation. What is your personal opinion about artificial intelligence becoming increasingly involved in music?

I'll be honest, in the beginning I didn't want to give it a chance. I seen it just like everybody else sees it, especially musicians. Then I had a talk with myself, I guess you could say. Told myself it's knowledge, it's not going nowhere. Either I catch the bus to go to school, or I get left behind to walk to school. And that's the way I looked at it.

Not having any expectations, I downloaded the SUNO music app. Now keep in mind I'm still trying to find my sound with my guitar because of the new technology, and I'm just not having no luck at it. I don't like to put anything out that I'm going to sound horrible at, even though I have done in the past because I was just getting back into music. Trial and error, that's how we learn.

Saying that, I created a song and I was absolutely blown away. How fast it was and how detailed it would be—the more information you give on what you want.

So I mean, I got so many songs on SUNO. I've been locked out of my account for months and can't get back in. Tried to talk to support about it. They said I still can get in and haven't received the email of them helping me to get in. It takes them a while to respond. A little frustrated about it, but I made another account.

But when I write my words, my lyrics, those are personal to me because I do not let AI write my words.

My personal opinion would be it's a cheat sheet. It'll make a musician lazy too. Because all the work that you would have to do to create some of these songs would most likely take you weeks, if not months or years, to get it just right like that.

Nothing about sound because you still got to go tweak the sound in a DAW because if you know what you're listening for, you can tell it's AI if you don't mix it right.

But it's a cheat sheet. It is. And everyone who uses it knows it. But we all know that AI is not going anywhere, and if it can give you an edge, you would have to be not thinking right not to use it.

I, for one, wasn't going to be left behind when it comes down to technology advancements in music. I love to learn, and that's what I'm doing.

26. Do you see AI as a threat to musicians, a creative tool, or potentially both?

At the moment it is. It's a big threat. It's creating so much music that people are putting out there that hasn't been created by human hands.

Therefore, when there is no categories in place when this come out, it completely left the music world vulnerable. It created the record labels to reevaluate this situation. They had to change it a lot up in order to account for all what was about to happen.

Now I'm going to tell you, I think it was been out way longer than what people think. They was just fine tuning it, and we already should understand who has been using this tool is the big record label.

It was cheaper for them. Don't have to spend all this money on sound engineers, producers, or—it's just quick, it's fast. Less time means less hours you have to pay somebody.

So it's just not musicians that suffers from this. Now you're going to see it in the movie industry. You're going to see it as you on social media. You watch all these producers now want to mix and master everybody stuff. It's because it took away from them.

Now don't get me wrong, it's created a lot of positives for those who would have never thought they could be in that position.

But for the musicians out there that throw their hands up and just want to hate on it, got to stop that. All you doing is letting the ones who don't know anything about music become bigger than you.

We as artists, musicians and producers, you don't understand—it's not going anywhere. We need to catch the bus to get to school and learn instead of being left behind to walk to school.

And face the facts. What happened is musicians got mad and going to rampage with b*******.

It's like, no man, look at it for what it is. It ain't going the way you better learn it because you're leaving all these other people that don't know anything or didn't put the time that you have, the amount of time, the amount of energy to create real human music.

27. Where do you personally draw the line between using technology to enhance your creativity and allowing technology to replace the artist?

I draw the line where if you letting it do and create everything—the music.

I mean, I had to use it. I needed to move fast. I'm looking at my age. I ain't getting no younger. Over half of my life is over with. So I use it as a tool to make enough noise to be seen.

And like I said, I won't let it write my lyrics or my words because that's personal to me.

Another thing, if it's not next to master properly, you'll know it's AI. So all those producers out there that's trying to make a quick buck on mixing AI stuff for other people, I mean y'all fuss about something y'all helping. It doesn't make sense.

But it's like this too: This s*** will do for money is ridiculous. A lot of times we'll go against your character, but if the money's right, guess what happens? You're going to give in.

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THE INTERNATIONAL CONNECTION

28. You collaborated with The Seagulls Of Deaf on “Our Problems.” How did that collaboration come about?

Collaboration with the Seagulls Of Deaf, that came about—they reached out. He's a young guy from Norway, from what I understand.

Which, you know, I didn't care what it sounded like. I wanted to be as much as I could with the project for them personally because they're young. Or he's young. And as an adult we're examples, man, of what we should be like in life for the younger generation.

Like, who am I not to be cool with someone like this young guy right here that is a genuine player, I feel.

A lot of times I got my guard up. So there was one individual, just the way things went, I started thinking he was somebody that I knew that didn't like me that much that was trying to play a game LOL 🤣. And I basically told him about himself and blocked him.

But I unblocked him for the fact maybe I was wrong, and I told him about that. Told him I was sorry, that I just felt some kind of way. Just too many things made it seem and made sense to me that's what it was, what I was seeing.

And there's a lot of people, you know, that always want you to go listen to the music and to give them your opinion. I try as much as I can, but I am so tunnel vision when it comes to working with music that I rarely get out that studio to look around.

But I've been trying here recently a little bit more.

I come across one guy that I love his music. Like there's really two more guys on there I use. One named Eric, RIFFEN' AIN'T EASY, @eric616 is his profile. And first time I heard his music, it just clicked. I do a lot of his forks.

There's another guy Samuel P Lauzon, @samuelplayzon. Now Samuel's music, I don't know what it is about this guy's music, but it pulls some type of creative side out of me that my own music can't do.

Same goes for Eric.

One guy I respect really the most on there is DR SNAVE. He hosts Hell Night on YouTube. I've done a few of his forks. Very awesome musician, very respectful person.

That's what I look for in individuals is character.

29. What was it like working with musicians from Norway while creating your own music from Buras, Louisiana?

Well, I think at the time I've done that one song with them, I kind of put everything to the side for a day and I worked on that project.

The only mistake on that project was when I sent my vocal track because he was going to mix it, the young guy was. And I didn't have no issues with it. Let him do his thing. That's how you learn.

But he put the vocals in the wrong spot, and when I went to listen to it, I tried to let him know. He didn't send me a preview first; he had published it.

I'm like, no LOL 🤣.

It was no big deal, but you know you're going to have mistakes like that. It's the real world, man. That's how we learn. That's how we grow.

But I really think highly of the young guy from Norway.

30. What did that collaboration teach you about yourself as an artist?

I know what type of person I am and how big my heart can be, and I know how stubborn I could be also.

But I guess anyway, it showed me working with others sometimes, no matter how it turns out, just go with it.

You know, especially him being a young musician, I wanted him to have full control.

Like I said, he's our next generation of players. If we can't show them or give them hands-on to learn, we won't be doing them any good.

31. Are there other artists or bands you would love to collaborate with in the future?

Of course, of course. There's a lot of them. There's some that I haven't even come across yet, put it that way LOL.

I'm sure I will, and I'm sure if they're interested, I'm interested. There will be a collaboration.

There's a few collaborations I've done, but the one song for me that stands out the most is the first collaboration I've done.

And to be honest with you, he came out of nowhere and asked me. I said, "Yeah, hell yeah, I'll do it."

Knowing my vocal was at a time was not at peak level or anywhere close, but I took the project on. And there's a part that I was hearing and I kind of explained it to him.

At first he wasn't sure. You could tell by the way he responded. But like I told him, if he would just trust me, if you don't like it after the fact, we could always do something different.

But at the end of it he said, "Man, I'm glad I listened to you."

And good thing his vocals are at peak because he was able to help me out in certain spots where I was still weak at.

Kurxyami, @kurxyami—and I will tell you this guy is phenomenal. Like you would have to go listen to him. He has really good production skills. Phenomenal vocalist, such a powerful voice.

And he first approached me to do a collaboration, the song called "SYNTHETIC LOVE," and it's for me one of the best ones. It was the first one.

I think there's a song I've done, "Rise of the Titans" by SGOD, just one of my favorites I've done by them.

Dr Snave I've done a couple cool ones also. Bone Grinder is another one I've done stuff with.

I want to mention a really good friend of mine, Ron N2 the Nothing. What a really cool collaboration with him.

Last name I'll mention is a guy that is such an amazing producer, not to mention artist, n00se head, @n00sehead.

Like these guys had my back learning all this stuff. I appreciate all of them.

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LOUISIANA & THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

32. Do you think being from South Louisiana influences your music in ways people outside of Louisiana might not immediately recognize?

I'm going to say that's a big yes.

How being from South Louisiana—that's far South as I am because you can't go no further LOL. Just slang that we use down here is different, and it's not too much I can do when that's how I talk and it's incorporated in the way I sing and write lyrics LOL.

So yeah, there's that too 😎.

I mean, it might take someone two or three times to actually catch on what I'm doing.

It's just not the slang that makes it different. It's the fact that I'm trying to do something where there's so much going on in a song that most would think it's too much.

And I look at it as, give it a moment. Let your brain process it, because what you're doing is moving on too fast.

Like I got two sets of vocals, sometimes three, doing all different things.

I mentioned before I'll do a vocal track, mute it to another vocal, mute it to another vocal track. It's like four or five songs in one song, and I'm just cutting the best parts out.

Sometimes I just unmute it to see what it sounds like. And if it's something that I think is cool or I hear, I'm going to work with that.

33. What do you think the independent music scene needs more of right now?

Well, here this is what the metal needs to look at. Yeah, there's no shows. That will be the metal show out there. It's not going to happen. Never will.

A metal show is energetic and is filled with a bunch of people that's just want to have a good time, and they're watching and taking care of everybody around them.

Actually quite amazing to see.

But what the musicians need is to have each other's back. We make it too much of a competition.

But that's just how we are, most I would say. That's my experience from it.

Just like the independent scene, everybody needs to have each other's back.

34. What has been the biggest challenge you've faced trying to build FATAL independently?

Biggest challenge was relearning, reprogramming my mind to learn all this new technology.

Knock the rust off my fingers so I can play again LOL, which was a challenge. Fifteen years is a long time.

I wasn't really that rusty, but yeah, still at that point where practice and being constant.

But I would say that was the hardest thing.

35. What has been the biggest accomplishment so far?

Well, my biggest accomplishment would be my chart standings.

At the moment I'm 4th regional, I'm 32 nationally and 43 globally on ReverbNation metal charts.

I don't know if you knew about my second project, Mystified Master. It's an AI project—my words, not my voice.

I'm actually 6th regional. I forgot all about the project until I looked at my stats and noticed that right behind 5th place regional, there was my AI project at 6th.

So both of my projects are in the top 10 metal chart of New Orleans, Louisiana.

I've been number one on metal chart of New Orleans, and I think that was my biggest accomplishment.

I think I'll grab the number one spot here again shortly. I just haven't been posting as much because I'm always working on new stuff.

This is where a team comes in handy LOL, and having a label helps.

Speaking of 31 Records, I am doing a sponsorship with Joe.

My Spotify sucked because the algorithm didn't pick me up because it was one of the first things I created and I didn't mess with it at all, so yeah, hurt me in the long run.

But since I'mma have 31 Records sponsorship, I'm sure the numbers will climb and the algorithm will start seeing me again.

So big shout out to my label, @thirtyonerecords, Mr. Joe.

Because right now I'm still trying to get all that active video to do and a lot more to get accomplished to get all that going.

But I wanted to finish this interview first, be thorough with it and answer you honestly.

No sugar coats. No b*******. Just me being real.

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THE FUTURE

36. What does success look like for FATAL? Is it mainstream recognition, touring, reaching a certain number of listeners, creative freedom—or something else?

I can say this for sure that I'm not stopping.

I'm able to breathe for the first time in 15 years, no matter if someone's listening or not. It's just a part of me that has to create.

So success—I've topped all the goals I set for myself already. Maybe I should set some more just to see how far I can take it.

But yeah, that would be success for me. If I could do this for a living, that's success.

I don't need to be more complicated than that.

I'm not someone who needs a lot of money, nor do I want it. I want to be comfortable in life, that's it, and let me do my thing.

37. Where do you want FATAL to be one year from now?

I'm hoping by this next year that passes I can just be able to put out some solid sounding music.

Leveling up on my production skills. More of my originals than AI music.

And the originals I have now I'm going to start practicing on more because yeah, I want to play shows.

I'm going to play shows.

I just want to show or prove to myself what I'm capable of. Simple.

38. Where do you see yourself five years from now?

I mean, that is a little stretch of a time frame.

Hopefully being a headliner, coming to my hometown to actually play a show and have complete chaos on that stage.

And in between time from that, awesome collaborations, meeting awesome people, growing my network, my connections, and being a solid m************ person I am.

39. If you could collaborate with any artist or band in the world, who would it be?

You already know my favorite band, Slipknot, right?

That would be epic to f****** collaborate with Corey Taylor.

The man is one of the best front men of his time, hands down. Mad respect for the guy.

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THE QUESTION BEHIND THE MUSIC

40. You once walked away from music, but eventually found your way back. If you could sit down with the Daniel Holloway who was struggling with his identity and had stepped away from music, what would you tell him today?

Because I would never want to change a thing about the things I've been through, no matter how dark, no matter how bad it was.

I have to understand all those tests was to mold me for certain purpose.

So if I sat down with myself, I would look myself in the eyes and say:

"Hold the f* on. It's going to be a f****** ride, but it's going to be a journey."**

41. What does music mean to you now that you've experienced what life is like without it?

What it means to me? Everything. Life itself.

Music is sound. Sound is beautiful.

Losing my identity as a musician/artist—I wasn't no producer back then. Didn't even know that side of it.

Mad respect now for everyone on this side of music.

The amount of time these producers put in, the brain energy you use up LOL, it's insane, man. But I f****** love it.

But yeah, it's like this too: To live life, you better have a dream.

You don't dream for something, you're going to only exist in this world.

I'm not one who wants to just exist.

I'm that mother f***** that wants to live and live loud.

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THIS IS FATAL. THIS IS THE JOURNEY.

Daniel Holloway's story isn't simply about returning to music. It's about rebuilding an identity, embracing technology without surrendering his own voice, learning to collaborate, and continuing to create regardless of whether anyone is listening.

After 15 years away, FATAL represents a second chapter—and Holloway isn't interested in playing it quietly.

This is Daniel Holloway — Becoming FATAL.

This is 10 Out Of 10 Magazine.