Ho99o9: “This album with Travis Barker is unique from everything he has ever done”

Fresh from announcing their highly-anticipated second album SKIN, Ho99o9 have sent out a message to those wondering if the duo are going to turn into blink-182 given that Travis Barker worked on the record (okay, we're exaggerating slightly there, but still).

A longtime fan of the band, the drum legend reached out to Ho99o9 to produce album number two – which is also getting released via Travis' DTA Records – and has made sure to preserve their sound.

"For the record," Ho99o9 tweeted, "the day Horror does pop-punk is the day racism will end in the world lol. This album with Travis Barker is unique from everything he has ever done, if you think otherwise then [you're] wrong. Always good to step out that comfort zone & challenge things musically."

It's a topic we delved into with the band in our January cover story, with theOGM explaining that, “Travis Barker is known for the pop-punk aesthetic with most of the artists that he’s worked with, and I like that we were able to do something different with him and challenge that. I know [there will be people] who hear that Ho99o9 are putting out an album with Travis Barker, and probably be like, ’Ah man, I don’t know. They probably sold out…’ But when you hear it, you’re like, ‘Oh shit, it’s still Ho99o9! This is fire!’

“There’s going to be people that love it and there’s going to be people that don’t fuck with it. Fuck ’em. Who cares? That’s what comes with putting your art out there. Anything that you do, that comes with it. But this shit gonna hit. I’m telling you right now, I don’t have no doubts.”

“I might be taking a long shot with this,” said Yeti Bones, “but this is just something that hasn’t been done before. I think it’s just going to be monumental. It’s just always forward-thinking, staying 10 steps ahead of the game musically and mentally with what we’re doing and how we do it and how we put everything out on the table. This album has to stand the test of time.”

Ho99o9 also enthused that they hit it off instantly with Travis, after initially feeling unsure about working with anyone this time around.

“This is why I love good people, and why you gotta have good people around you,” explained theOGM. “One of our friends was like, ‘Travis is trying to link up.’ But at the time we were like, ‘I don’t think we’re trying to work with nobody right now, so we’re not really able to entertain a conversation,’ and then we kind of just dipped off. But then another friend was like, ‘Yo, Travis is mad cool – you should link up!’ These are two solid individuals that we trust and love, and if they’re saying that, we should go check him out. And we did. And it was good vibrations from the moment that we linked up.”

Catch Ho99o9 with N8NOFACE at the following:

April

15 Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex
16 San Jose, CA – The Ritz
17 San Francisco, CA – August Hall
19 Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
21 Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar
23 Denver, CO – Marquis Theater
25 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
26 Chicago, IL – Subterranean
27 Detroit, MI – The Sanctuary
29 Washington, DC – Songbyrd
30 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom

May

1 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
2 Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts
3 Durham, NC – Motorco
4 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade (Hell)
6 West Palm Beach, FL – Respectables
7 Orlando, FL – Henao Center
9 Nashville, TN – Exit / In
10 Memphis, TN – Growlers
12 Dallas, TX – The Loft
13 Austin, TX – Oblivion Access
14 Houston, TX – Satellite Bar

And see them with Slipknot and Cypress Hill on the Knotfest Roadshow tour:

May

18 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center
20 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
21 Providence, RI Dunkin' Donuts Center
22 Manchester, NH SNHU Arena
24 Albany, NY MVP Arena
26 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
28 Québec, QC Videotron Centre
29 Ottawa, ON Canadian Tire Centre
30 Toronto, ON Budweiser Stage

June

1 Cincinnati, OH Heritage Bank Center
2 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
4 East Troy, WI Alpine Valley Music Theatre
5 Moline, IL TaxSlayer Center
7 Bonner Springs, KS Azura Amphitheater
9 Colorado Springs, CO The Broadmoor World Arena
11 Nampa, ID Ford Idaho Center
13 Seattle, WA Climate Pledge Arena
14 Ridgefield, WA RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
17 Las Vegas, NV MGM Garden Arena
18 Chula Vista, CA North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre

Read this: Ho99o9: “No-one sounds like us. No-one will ever be us”