Hi! Can you give a brief history of Hell:on, including the music style and the members?
Hi!
We started as a band Hell:on in early 2005. We knew each other long before the band, but only during 2005 it became something bigger. At the very beginning it was a mix of thrash and death metal. We were influenced by Chuck Shuldiner, Sepultura, Slayer, Diablo so our preferences definitely impacted our music. We have a long history of the band. It is about 20 years already and our style becomes more oriental and tempted to be more death metal musically. We have only one replacement in our crew, we changed our guitar player in early 2009 and since that time no other changes of the staff.
Could you provide more detailed information about Shaman?
Sure. This album continues the story of the previous "Scythian Stamm" with just more tribal elements in the music I guess. Also we experimented a lot with vocals: throat singing and harsh, clean and even chorus.
"Shaman" is a mystical story about the invocation of the Young One, Who becomes the Shaman. Cold steppes.. frozen sky..wild bloody ritual dances over the flames.. Piercing wind through the soul of the young tribal hunter who is cursed (blessed?) to be the head of the Clan and its Spiritual leader this is what this story is about.
Hell:on has signed with Archivist Records. Could you tell us more about that?
We had several options with this release, but to tell the truth they were not good. We looked for publishers all over the world, but the best offer came from our local label. Archivist Records is an old label with a great history. We are known each other for ages and we are really proud to be part of their legacy now. They are particularly concentrated on the quality of all their records, so we are sure that release will receive the best production we ever had.
What is the difference between your latest record and the band's very first one?
Ou, I still love the first one. This is so raw, fresh and brutal. But production and recordings are really shitty))) i hope one day we will find inspiration and time to re-write it somehow... I don't know. Good material.. very true and powerful as for me. We were very young and fired with energy. We wanted all and now, you know)) classical Springs. The newest record has a more controlled level of our passion, we are really enjoying the process of creating and composing. And we do great productions now in our own studio. Also "Shaman" had the whole concept and idea of what it would be even before the starting.
What inspires Hell:on 's music and lyric writing? What do Hell:on 's lyrics talk about?
You know that Ukraine was attacked by the russians... half of our country is destroyed, part occupied. Regular missiles and drone attacks give us the power to struggle and live. And this is the source of our inspiration and spirit.
This album should have been released two years ago, but the big war put everything in our lives on hold. Understanding this pushes us hard to live with full force and do what we can and want, the very next day could be our last day. Our bassist is now in the Army, so we are very thankful to our Armed Forces for the opportunity to go on with our music.
Do you play live often? Do you enjoy performing abroad?
Not really now. There are a lot of reasons why we can't play live so often. Mostly it is related to the war conditions. The same story with tours abroad. Hopefully one day...
How often does the band practice and work on new material?
it depends. Sometimes it is on a weekly basis, sometimes on a monthly basis. We live in different towns now, so mostly we practice separately. We just collect the ideas during staying at home and then try to compose it together at the studio.
Some new riffs for the new future album are already done. Once I saw an interview with the guys from Immolation, so they talked about the way they are working over new materials and mentioned pretty much the same thing we have now. Funny.
How did the band come up with the name Hell:on? What does it mean to you?
From the very beginning it was called Hellion. But then we realized that there are a bunch of the bands with the same name. So we decided to put the symbol ":" instead of "i" to receive a more hellish meaning))) we are satisfied a lot with it. And now it even more responds to our inner feeling about the band name than previously.
What are the band's plans for the near future?
We would like to make an album presentation here in Ukraine, just a couple of concerts. And then makes several music videos during the year. Unfortunately there is not so much to do during the war. But we keep rocking and rolling. Work over the new album has already started.
Do you have a message for Iron Backstage readers?
Guys, enjoy every moment of your life! Enjoy the peace and beauty of your life! Love your families and friends, enjoy your time with them!
Believe me, I know what I am talking about. And listen to the new Hell:on album! Cheers!