"Back in high school in 1986 I was watching the news and Tom Brokaw was talking about some war going on," states Hostility frontman/screamer Dean Book, "and how the president was worried about the hostile environment and that there would be more hostilities in the future. I thought to myself, 'Hostility? Cool name for a band,' and from then on we were a band with a name."

Almost ten years later Hostility have released their Century Media debut, _Brick_, and are ready to tour. Along with Book in this abrasive, head-smashing hardcore/metal outfit is drummer/brother Duane Book, bassist Todd Herzig and guitarist Jaime Mai. The band is like a crate of explosives with numbers like "Chump", "Remember When", and "Self Belief" from their debut proving them to be a band wanting to break out of the 'rookie band' mold and get on their career.

Believe me when I tell you, Book is not afraid to vent his excitement/anticipation about a future tour. He begins, "We are working on a tour for the beginning of the year, possibly a few shows in Texas or try to get something going with My Only Victim (another label act) for awhile." Adding he says, "We'll go out anywhere, with anyone and any place. We'll go out with Boy George if we have to - we just want to get out and play."

Seeing that touring places such a demand on a young band, how hard is it for a band like Hostility to get out there and get exposure aside from touring? Does the industry help out? "In our case you get as much chance as you give yourself or want to have. If you go out and work hard then you will get a chance but a lot of young bands think that labels will do the work for them when in reality a band has to go out and bust their asses to get somewhere. We are busting our asses just to be acknowledged."

Hailing from the mid-West, home of farms, grain and more farms, you'd think a band like Hostility would be just another Collective Soul or Hootie and the Blowfish, but this is not the case. Fuelling the anger and frustration of the band is the lifestyle in which they grew up. "Our heaviness and emotions is from what we grew up with. It is sparked by the small-minded state that we come from. They (small towns) have no idea what goes on outside of Kansas. Growing up in a small town where you are dealing with a lot of close-minded people is tough, and you can't do anything rash about it 'cause you don't want to spend time in jail. So you write it down."

Book explains to me that the band has toured somewhat in the adjoining states around Kansas, and concludes that the band has developed some form of a fanbase thanks to opening slots for Kyuss, Obituary and Fear Factory. "We have got all fans of all types of music liking us. I can't explain it but it is happening and we are seeing this at the shows we play. We just listen to a lot of music styles. I mean, I can wake up listening to Six Feet Under and go to bed listening to Hank Williams. We have a lot of fans that listen to everything. And we try to make music that everyone will dig."

Speaking about _Brick_, Book notes that this album captured the band at the time of the recording. Like previous demos, the rawness was captured as was the congruency conveyed by the band and their sound. "Every demo we have done sounds different and with every demo we sound heavier," explains Book about the three demos leading up to _Brick_. "And every demo blows everything else before it away. The good thing about the album _Brick_ is that it captures pretty much what we sound like live."

Like most interviews for CoC the topic of metal being the 'dying breed' always seems to surface. Book is quite positive about the strength of metal and hard rock by saying, "Well as I see it, and it happened in the 80's, everything is cleaning itself out. Getting rid of all the bad stuff. Metal has always been around and it always will be. It is the one form of music that people will always be able to listen to."

Metal is once again brewing and hotspots of the music (i.e. Tampa, New York) may not be the only place to look for band. How about checking out Kansas? Hostility would encourage it.