Heart Attack Man Unleashes Itself on New Album 'Freak of Nature'

Heart Attack Man treads into new territory on its third full-length release Freak of Nature, which is set to release May 26.

“It’s this interesting point where we want to really take things to the next level and challenge ourselves creatively. A big part of that was really branching out and bringing new energy into the mix,” says singer-guitarist Eric Egan.

Bringing on an unlikely producer and collaborator, Lil Aaron — whose list of collaborators includes Kim Petras, Lizzo, Selena Gomez and Saweetie — Egan opened up the Cleveland band’s songwriting process for the first time. Ryan Scott Graham of State Champs, Nick Wheeler of All American Rejects and Lil Aaron’s brother, who performs under the name Brasko, also collaborated.

“The biggest development overall with this album has been doing co-writes for the first time, bringing people into the fold to expand our horizons creatively, in the writing sense, and also working with a producer for the first time — which worked out really well for us,” Egan says.

Still, expect to find the high-energy, simmering pop-punk stylings that the band has established in the past few years — just, with more input and new flair. Lil Aaron proved instrumental in the band’s latest single, “Like A Kennedy,” out today.

“It was definitely a bit uncomfortable for me; I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m feeling about this,’ and Aaron really challenged me. He’s like, ‘Just see it through, try it out, and if you don’t like where it goes, we can always scrap it.’ Then we just pressed through and I did end up really liking it,” Egan reflects. “There’s a fair amount of moments like that, on this album, where we had growing pains.”

Listen to “Like A Kennedy” below:

The band, one of Cleveland’s most notable breakout acts of the past few years, has already caught the pop-punk world by storm with two albums (2017’s The Manson Family and 2019’s Fake Blood) and a few EPs, including 2021’s fiery Thoughtz & Prayers. Throw in a couple of expansive tours with Boston Manor, Knuckle Puck and Neck Deep — plus a successful 2022 headlining tour — along with a few viral social media moments, like the infamous $100,000 orange beanie auction on eBay, and the band’s building momentum is clear.

Heart Attack Man already sold out its two consecutive shows at Mahall’s in early July, marking the end of its upcoming Freak of Nature tour (aka, the “Freak of Na-Tour”). Tickets sold out in a matter of hours.

“From the beginning, we had it in mind that we wanted to do two nights in a row, that when we sell out the first one, we want to open up a second show. But we did not anticipate it being that fast, so we were really excited about that,” Egan says. “We would love to do a third, go three-for-three, have a three-peat, but we’re going to be going to the U.K., like, two days after, so we should give ourselves at least a couple of days to rest up before we have to fly.”

The band’s Milwaukee concert also sold out, and others are getting close, Egan says.

“We're still a month out, and it's already doing better than when we headlined last time, it's exciting. Things have definitely been progressing and growing,” Egan says. “Especially at home, where everything started for us, before we even thought about branching out to other cities and getting out on the road and stuff. … It's meant a lot to us that Cleveland still shows out and shows love for us.”