Now on Sludgelord it's time to for ourselves to interview one of Denmark's hardest rocking Sludge/Stoner Metal Bands – Helhorse
Helhorse are about to release their excellent second album – Oh Death – that I recently described as:
“Oh Death is a brilliant album you all need in your life. Oh Death will surely see Helhorse enhance their reputation on the global stage as a band to be reckoned with.
I have a feeling that Helhorse will be one of the most talked bands in 2014. Oh Death is their passport to the big time. Watch these guys soar - They truly deserve it. What more can I say. I loved every hard rocking minute of it.”
Well I had to find out more about these superb rockers!!! - So lets get started with the mighty HELHORSE!!
Q1 – Hi guys, how are things with you today. Thanks for doing this.
Hi,
Things are great here in horsy land
and thank you some much for your interest in the band and your kind
words
Q2 – For people not in the know can you give a brief history on how the band came about.
Well it´s
basically a mix of a bunch of underground Copenhagen hardcore, punk
and rock bands that got together and formed Helhorse because we
wanted to play more rocking, song structure oriented music. After a
lot of trying out and a line up change we started playing some shows
and really got electrified by how well it worked live, so we started
working allot with the songs and focusing more time and energy on it.
After almost 5 years – here we are
Q3 – You changed the bands name from Dødning to Helhorse back in 2010. Why was that? Did you want to start from scratch as you all have been jamming together since 2006?
Yeah, that’s a pretty good description. We felt the old name did not match our new, international ambitions (the name simply did not work outside Denmark) and we kind of needed a fresh start. The change really worked for us and we were able to build a more focused and interesting universe up around the band – it was a good move.
Q4 – Now congrats on your new album – Oh Death – What an album you have there. Full of heavy riffs through out. Bet your looking forward releasing it upon the world.
Ahh man
we can´t wait
! We are extremely proud of the album and can´t wait for the world
to hear it!
Q5 – Was it a hard album to write and record for.
The whole process of Oh Death was really really fun. As I explain it was a very difficult time for me personally, but as a band we were firing at all cylinders. Even though it sometimes it was hard work it has been one of the best experiences of my life. Oh Death is truly Helhorse playing and writing at it´s best. We seemed to in synch with each other and working with and awesome producer like Emil Buus Saaur just enhanced that.
Q6 – Is there anything you want to change about it or is it perfect the way it is.
Actually
I wouldn’t change a thing – we love it
Q7 – How would yourselves describe your sound.
As a bastard like mix of rock, metal, sludge and punk. It´s heavy and aggressive, but has a lot of melody and very focused on song structure. You could also argue that it is very much the sound of our cultural backgrounds coming together. Our Scandinavian hardcore/punk stuff mixed with our deep love of southern influenced classic, rock and metal.
Q8 – Which bands and artists influenced you as musicians?
Well, we all have different stuff but there are certain bands everybody agrees on. I would say stuff like Thin Lizzy, Crowbar, Raging Speedhorn, Down, High On Fire, Corrosion Of Conformity and Eyehategod
Q9 – What is your favorite track off the album? Mine has to be – Death Comes To The Sleeping. Shows what you guys are all about. Heavy Sludge/Stoner Metal Riffs but with a dark twisted edge.
Death
Comes… is also one of mine, it´s properly some of the best stuff
Helhorse has ever written. Personally I would say Scorch The Earth
–the heavy groove, the chorus and the outro is great
Q10 – I felt the album has a very dark vibe around it. Especially with the lyrics. Can you tell us what inspired you when you were writing it.
Both Aske and me write the lyrics and I know a lot of the stuff he writes is very much about evolving your self as a human being, facing up to facts and trying do deal inner struggles. For me personally ”Oh Death” was a journey into the darkest, most desperate place I have been in my life. I was ending a long relationship, feeling lost, worn out and without a direction. The album is me trying to find a new way in my life, dealing with the grief of a long love ending and trying to forgive myself and build a new me. So ”Oh Death” is very much a catharsis album for me.
That is why we constantly revolve around death as a theme on this album. Death as being a new start, immense grief, killing old habits to build better ones and of course the inevitability of our mortality. All the numerous emotions that are connected to being a human being can be linked to death
Q11 – The album feels like a natural progression from For Wolves and Vultures. Was that your plan to release something darker and heavier for your 2nd album?
After “For Wolves..” and having toured that for almost two years, we need to write something that seemed more substantial for us. In the begging we struggled a little with the direction, but as soon as the first few songs came together the bubble burst and the creative juices really started to flow. I think the darker edge is very much the lyrics but also because were so hell-bent on song structure and cutting everything down to the bone to create the true sound of Helhorse – so as a band we are darker then the stuff came out on the first album.
Q12 – You guys have played with a lot of great bands over the last few years such as Kadavar, Monster Magnet and Black Label. How did their fans treat you and which band was your favorite to tour with.
Well Monster Magnet and Black Label we spent very little time with, so I cant really say. But Kadavar are really cool and after a little adjusting we got to really like those guys, they are very cool, dedicated people we respect deeply. I think one of the coolest bands we played with must be Crowbar. Totally down to earth, awesome guys with a great sense of humor and we had a blast with them. We also enjoyed playing with Hatesphere last year, cool guys as well.
Q13 - What are your favorite bands you are currently listening to? Any bands that myself or our readers should check out.
Right now I am really into the new Nails album “Abandon All Hope”. We just played Eistnaflug festival in Iceland were we saw amazing bands. Momentum, Legend are really cool bands you should check out. Also I have been listening a lot to the new The Psyke Project album “Guillotine” – awesome stuff.
(Sludgelord Note - I fucked up on the next question folks. I asked what the local scene is like in Norway when Helhorse are in fact from Denmark. I left the original question in. As the guys took my mistake in good fun)
Q14 – What is the local scene like in Norway? Do you get regular gigs in your hometown and country? Or do you have to travel overseas more to perform regularly.
Well, we
are from Denmark so I can´t say
, but anyways, yeah, we play a lot in Denmark. In November we are
embarking a full-blown Danish tour with Solbrud and By The Patient,
so yeah Denmark is rally growing for us.
We have played once in Norway at a really cool festival called By:Larm. We hope to come back there soon
Q15 - Do you all have regular jobs or is being a musician your main job.
We still
have jobs on the side. Obviously we hope Helhorse grows to a size
were we can focus even more time on it – playing music is the best
thing in the world
Q16 - Has the Sludge/Stoner/Doom Metal community been a big help in getting your music across to the masses. Have you received any mainstream attention yet?
Both yes and no. In Denmark we did not always fit into to sometimes narrow boxes. From the begging there was a pretty broad interest in us and we are feeling even more of that nowadays – it’s great!
Q17 - What are your views of bands using websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to fund their new album releases. Some people and bands are for it. Some are not. Would you consider doing some thing like that yourselves?
These days there is no blueprint to how you should run you band. The possibilities are endless. For some labels is the way, for some fundraising. I wouldn’t want for Helhorse, at least not at the present moment, but I totally get why some see it as a good tool.
Q18 - If you could provide words to wisdom for people wanting to start a band – What would they be.
Always try to be better then you think you can be. Listen to people, who are smarter the you and ignore the ones you aren’t. Also try to look with a very critical eye on your music and cut away all needles things – the composition is king.
Finally – play because you have to and can’t imagine life with out it – great passion makes great music.
Q19 - What are the advantages and disadvantages of being in a band? Financial aspect
being a part of band could be a major disadvantage.
The advantages are defiantly all the great experiences, people and the personal journey it is to create, record and tour.
The downside is absolutely financially. It is a lot (and I do mean a lot) of work for shit pay. A lot of people think that bands are acting spoiled when they complain about money, which I think is total bullshit. It’s about surviving; being able to eat, have a home/ surviving. We spend all our free time on Helhorse, we love it and are very grateful for the chances being given to us – but to say that it doesn’t have certain consequences is naïve.
So if you
love a band and want them to keep on making great music – buy the
ticket, the album and the merchandise. That way you can be sure they
will be around for a long time
Q20 - Finally do you have anything to say to your fans?
We want
to thank everybody for their support and love they show us – it
really means everything to us and keeps us going. Helhorse is will
keep on working our asses of for you playing better and better shows
and making better and better music – it´s the least we could do
We are gunning to play as much of Europe as humanly possible in 2014
and UK is very high on our list, so we hope to come soon. Much love.
Well guys thanks for your time. The best of luck with your new album. Like I said in review I think it's going to be a big hit with the Sludge/Stoner Metal Crowd. Hope to see you all at a gig one day if you ever hit the UK.
Thanks
for great questions and your interest in the band, take care man
Thanks to Helhorse for doing this great interview. Their briliant new album - Oh Death - is one of 2013's best Sludge/Stoner Metal albums.
Oh Death is available to buy from Mighty Music/Target form Sept 23th 2013.
Check This Brilliant Band From Links Below.
Official
Check out the excellent video for - Death Comes To The Sleeping.
