HELL:ON – Interviews

HELL:ON’s latest album impressed me so much that I just had to interview them. If you fancy thrash metal played the great way then you’ll have your hands full with this one.

Interview was prepared by Anders Ekdahl (http://battlehelm.com/)

 

What has been the best with being in band so far?
-When I started to listen to metal music at school I was wondering how it would be great to meet my favorite musicians. A little bit later I started to play in the trash band and was wondering how it would be great to play with my favorite bands on the same stage. Now I had the both. It was not Metallica and James Hetfield unfortunately but who knows what is waiting for us in the future…

When you release a new album what is the hardest thing aboutit? How emotional is it to let go of something you’ve created?
-The hardest thing in this album, and to my mind it is valid for any act of creativity, was to evaluate our work by ourselves. It’s also hard to rely totally on the opinions of our friends because they also can judge through the prism of our friendship. We tried our best and it’s up to our fans to give final verdict. During the recording we also had a technical problem – we’ve lost the whole album because of the hard drive failure, so we recorded it once more.

Do you feel that you’ve come as far as you can with the music? Where do you want to go with the music?
-Definitely this album is some kind of underlining of our process during the years of Hell:On existence. We have developed our stile and we know what we want to hear from us. It maybe to loud to say that it is “our” style, because it is a fusion of our own musical thinking plus (and this is the major part of “our” style) influence of our favorite bands such as Metallica, Slayer, Sepultura. As for how far we came with our music… Once Duke Ellington was asked at the end of his life what was his best melody? And he answered the one which I would compose tomorrow.

Do you have a plan for world domination or do you take it step by step, area for area?
-Yes, we have the plan for world domination – it is going step by step, area after area… 😉

What is the meaning behind the band?s name? Why the spelling?
-Original name of the band was Hellion. When we played inside Ukraine there were no problems with the name. However when we started to spread the band activity to Europe we encountered we the law of copyright because the band with such name already existed. So we cheated the law by substitution of the i letter with colon (:). As for me with time the meaning of the band name also changed, something like Hell is on, watch out!

How does your local/national scene treat Hell:On? What kind of scene are you a part of?
-In our country we are still on the underground level. This is because metal music in our country is totally underground. We have rather big army of our fans. Organizes from different cities of Ukraine constantly invite us to play in their clubs. I would like to mention that our band is the example of metal band management and behavior at least for several more younger bands. Dammit, this is our mission to put metal music of Ukraine on the higher level!

When it comes to art work, how much say do you have?
-Just read the lyrics. And all that is said there we try to compress into one not very big picture. Of course we invite skilled designers and artists to do the job. Usually it is one person, however the idea is usually ours. As for me the cover of the CD is as important as the content of the CD so we apply maximum efforts and creativity to make our best.

Is touring something that comes easy for smaller bands? What kind of places can you play?
-I don’t know exactly how the touring for big bands passes but for small bands I would say that it is rather complex. The budget is rather limited while the expenses are high. Only one night per two-three-four days you can sleep on horizontal surface, while other nights you sleep in the buss on the road. The same thing with the shower. However you are always loaded to give the best performance in every city. Sometimes you feel like no force at all even to come to stage, but when you come in something is clicking and you are full of strength. Touring is obligatory experience for every band which wants to play. It fasten your band spirit (or destroys it- and this is one of the tests) and rises your professional skills. It also gives you a lot of different contacts, friends to spread your activity even further. Also for some people touring is good opportunity to see the world, however I prefer to explore the world in the club with good friends and the bottle of some kind of joy juice. Speaking about the places where we can play. As our practice shows we can play everywhere: from clubs where twenty people make crowd to big stages for thousands of fans. What is more important is the spirit of the concert and it’s hard to write the recipe for such spirit. We had concerts in such club where everything promised to be ugly: environment, sound equipment, and in the end it would become one of the best concerts of the tour. That I call the spirit.

What kind of future is there for the band?
-We will limit ourselves to domination over just the planets of solar system.

1. Dentro destes 7 anos de banda, qual foi o aprendizado da banda?
A banda foi fundada em 2005 na cidade Zaporozhye, Ucr?nia. Sim, agora estamos em 7 anos como uma banda. Agora Hell: em um dos maiores atos de metal em um pa?s e de acordo com v?rios metalzines maiores ucranianos, que s?o todos os membros da Hell: Em se conheciam muito antes do que funda??o da banda. N?s nos conhecemos em shows locais como amigos e participantes. Antes da Hell: os m?sicos participaram de projetos de diferentes estilos de speed metal e black metal.

2. Conte-nos como tudo come?ou?
Oleg baterista e guitarrista Alexey decidiram fazer alguma coisa juntos – e a banda foi fundada. Eles convidaram o amigo – baixista Alexandre e segundo guitarrista Anton. O ?ltimo que entrou na banda era o vocalista Alex. Em um m?s ap?s a sua funda??o Hell: Participaram de um dos maiores festivais de metal ucranianos – Metal Heads Mission, de modo que o in?cio foi muito r?pido. E foi muito importante para n?s, come?amos a tocar com uma dessas bandas grandes como Napalm Death, Kreator, Amorphis, por isso nos inspirou e nos fazem compreender que devemos avan?ar, trabalhando t?o duro, como n?s podemos.

3. Sabemos que o metal n?o e um estilo t?o forte na Ucrania, como ? ser uma banda de metal nesta terra?
Sim, a m?sica metal ucraniano ainda tem n?vel subterr?neo. Temos clubes suficientes para tocar e bandas boas o suficiente, mas, apesar disso, ? subterr?neo. Claro que gostaria de ter o solo preparado para tocar m?sica tal, mas agora podemos pensar que somos uma daquelas bandas ucranianas que est?o na vanguarda da divulga??o da m?sica metal em nosso pa?s. A situa??o no nosso pa?s sobre m?sica metal ? uma das raz?es por que s?o orientados para a Europa para os ?ltimos v?rios anos.

4. Como esta sendo a turn? europeia que voc?s est?o realizando, o que h? surpreendido voc?s?
O passeio foi great. Desta vez, n?s nos abra?amos cinco pa?ses europeus: Pol?nia, Rep?blica Checa, Alemanha, Eslov?quia e Hungria. Eu n?o sei o que dizer sobre surpresas, porque n?o ? a nossa primeira turn? na Europa, mas fico feliz de ver as pessoas familiares e amigos que vieram exatamente para o nosso desempenho. O que eu gosto durante turn? ? conhecer pessoas diferentes. ?s vezes, ? s? falar, ?s vezes voc? tem que resolver alguns problemas. Por exemplo, durante esta turn? nossa Messa retificador foi queimado, por isso tivemos de resolver este problema o mais rapidamente poss?vel. Ele estava na Pol?nia e nosso polon?s ? muito pobre. Por isso, foi bastante divertido para descobrir onde tinha uma loja de componentes de r?dio, o que ? soldador em polon?s e assim por diante.

5. Jogo r?pido:
4 bandas nacionais: Hell:on, Moria, Khors, Natural Spirit
4 bandas internacionais: Slayer, Iron Maiden, Sepultura, Metallica
1 livro: O Senhor dos An?is
1 cd: Deep Purple „Machine Head”
Ucrania: Liberdade
Thrash metal: trem em movimento
Hell On: Power!
Uma frase: Se voc? quer ser uma estrela de rock – seja!

6. Oksana Makar foi estuprada por tr?s jovens, estrangulada, queimada viva e abandonada ? morte em um ataque na cidade de Mykolayiv, no sul da Ucr?nia, no dia 10 de mar?o. Os rapazes est?o livres? O que voc?s acham de atitudes como estas?
Eu n?o sei como comentar o comportamento humano tal. Eu s? n?o entendo o que deve estar nas cabe?as daqueles “homens” que pode fazer essas coisas. No entanto, as meninas devem usar seus c?rebros tamb?m. Se voc? vai em algum lugar (voc? ainda n?o sabe onde) com algu?m (a quem voc? v? pela primeira vez) – o que voc? deve esperar pelo menos no nosso mundo e cruel? “Todas as coisas lavadas Mas sangue mancha o sol vermelho hoje”

7. Vader, Napalm Death, Kreator e muitas outras bandas voc?s ja dividiram palco, qual foi o melhor show dentre estes?
Sem d?vida que foi Metalfest na Pol?nia. Foi a melhor cena que jamais realizada. Gest?o de palco, som, atitude de pessoal – tudo isso estava no n?vel mais alto. Quando tudo organizado a n?vel t?o grande que voc? pode se concentrar totalmente no seu desempenho. Foi realmente uma grande experi?ncia.

8. Quais sao os projetos paea 2013?
At? o final deste ano queremos fazer um videoclip, para uma can??o do ?lbum “Age of Oblivion” . Falando sobre o futuro, vamos participar de v?rios grandes festivais europeus no pr?ximo ver?o, e tamb?m uma pr?xima turn? europ?ia no pr?ximo Outono. Tamb?m comecei a pensar em material novo, talvez a gente vai lan?ar novo ?lbum antes da pr?xima turn?.

9. O que dizer da cena atual na Ucrania? Melhorou do que era a 20 anos atras?
A grande melhoria da cena metal ucraniana comparada com per?odo de 20 anos ? que, pelo menos, j? existe. Como mencionamos o nosso pa?s j? tem clubes de metal, at? mesmo escolas de metal (temos cena metal muito forte black em Kharkov, parte norte da Ucr?nia, e cena da morte brutal na regi?o de Donbass). O ex?rcito de cabe?as de metal n?o ? t?o grande como na Europa, por exemplo, mas cresce constantemente. A raz?o disto ? tamb?m aumentou quantidade de concertos no nosso pa?s das bandas mundiais conhecidas como Slayer, Sepultura, Megadeth … Eu me lembro muitas vezes n?o muito tempo atr?s, quando era quase imposs?vel encontrar instrumento (n?vel ainda n?o superior) bom. A ?nica maneira de obt?-lo (pelo menos que eu saiba) foi pedir algum marinheiro que visitou outros continentes para compr?-lo l?. Agora ? tudo no passado.

10. Qual o diferencial da Hell On, que passou a receber tantos convites para shows e cresceu t?o r?pido?
Espero que tenhamos um toque de talento, e isso faz o nosso material interessante. ? para voc? decidir. Mas h? um prov?rbio bom: Se um trabalho vale a pena fazer, vale a pena fazer bem. Ent?o, n?s sempre tentamos o nosso melhor e tentamos trabalhar como um mecanismo todo e n?o apenas cinco membros.

11. Contatos, merchan?
Voc? pode sentir-se livre para escrever algo para n?s aqui:
hellionlabel@gmail.com
temos um monte de t-shits e outros animais, por isso se voc? quiser, voc? pode encontr?-lo em uma p?gina da nossa gravadora:
http://metalscrap.org.ua/

12. Mensagem:
Vejo voc?s em breve no Brasil!

In October my old thrashers-heart was positively shaken by the excellent new album Age Of Oblivion by Hell-On from Ukraine, the modern-day Wild East, where, at a record pace, people are embracing all things western. Also as far as metal is concerned: more and more things get organized there and we see an increasing number of good bands from these regions on the web and still (too) sporadically on our festivals.

Interview was prepared by Ed Knegtel /Lords Of Metal/

 

First of all wed like to congratulate you on your killer album Age Of Oblivion, classified by us as a combination of the aggression of Exodus and the melodic guitar parts of Annihilator, executed by experienced metal meisters. Can you guys tell us something about the bands history?
Hell-o! Thank you for such positive response about our album! The band was founded at spring time in 2005 in Zaporozhye, Ukraine. At first, it had only two members: Oleg Talanov(drummer) and Alexey Pasko(guitar), but after a couple of rehearsal sessions Alexandr Sitalo (bass) and guitar player Anton Pavlenko joined the band. Last who came to the band was vocalist Alexandr Baev. After several months playing in the studio, the band had its first concert on a one of the biggest Ukrainian open-air festivals: Metal Heads Mission, where we shared the same stage with Napalm Death. It was a very great experience and inspiration for us.

Lets introduce the band members what bands/projects/jobs are you filling next to Hell-On?
Before Hell:on was founded, all members had a lot of experience in different local bands. Some of us played thrash metal, some of us – death and black. Some of us played power metal. Even now our bassist has a rock-n-roll and blues project, and our guitarist Anton has his own death metal band. Unfortunately, we didnt earn enough money with our music, so we have other professions to make a living. Our bassist is a bank worker, vocalist is an electronic engineer, drummer is a web designer, one guitarist is a building foreman and the other guitarist is sound engineer.

Age of Oblivion is your third album. Do you guys see it as a kind of breakthrough album?
Yes, we reckon that this album is a breakthrough one. Its different from the previous two albums and we hope to hold this line (I mean adding something new into each new album). ‘Age Of Oblivion’ is more aggressive and fast comparing to our previous material. We think that it is also more professional and mature (however we love our older material too). We tried to make more simple constructions of the songs to make them easier to follow, however it also made the songs technically more complex. But this is our opinion, what do you think? 😉

What are your ambitions? How far do you guys want to get with Age of Oblivion and what sacrifices are you prepared to make? I really think that you have delivered a very good album, with Age of Oblivion. . now what are you going to do with it?
I think that almost all bands with concert activities have similar ambitions to become a top level band like Metallica, Slayer… In our language we have a proverb: He is a bad soldier who doesnt dream of becoming a general. We almost have finished the European tour in support of our new album. We want to make a video on one of the songs from the album. We also plan to participate in as many metal festivals as possible next summer. Speaking about sacrifices I think that we do them all the time that is one of the reasons why we are what we are. We have families, friends and jobs. So spending time on making and playing our music we deprive our families of our attention. Patience and understanding of our families and friends give us extra force to create. Almost all of us lose jobs at least once to make our tours possible. But that is our choice and well do our best.

With Total Metal Records you are on a good label, Hell-On fits right in with the other bands, but are they in a (financial) position to give you enough tour support to come over to western Europe? Because you should come over! Any plans in that respect?
Total Metal Records is the best metal music label on the territory of CIS. This is a sublabel of Metal Scrap Records. It gives us huge media and distribution support all over the world. The stuff of the label is very professional and they are just good people. But if we speak about tours we have booking agency Extraview Promotion, who arrange all the concerts for us.

Over in Ukraine you guys must have heard of our western European festivals? Festivals like Hellfest, Summer Breeze or Wacken Open Air? Positioned at the right slot on the bill, I think your music would go down very well there, what do you think?
Of course we know your festivals and we would be very happy to play on them! We hope we will have a possibility to take part in these events very soon and we will do our best to spread Hell:ons music all over Europe.

Do you have a dream tour/support slot in mind for your first western European trip? Which band(s) are on the wishlist ?
It would be very great for our band to go on tour with some band of the first echelon such as Slayer, Kreator, Sepultura. But we are open to any offers.

Can you guys tell us something about the Ukrainian metal scene? How big is it in numbers of people? Are there many opportunities for concerts? Are there many underground shows, clubs, good music shops etc.?
The Ukrainian metal scene is still on the underground level. We dont have such great metal bands as Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Slayer and others world leaders. However we have enough great underground bands. We have enough metal clubs too. Usually there are about a hundred people on an average metal concert. However it depends on participating bands, organisation, day. There may be ten people, but we also had examples of about a thousand metal heads (however its an exception). We also have several metal festivals. The greatest Ukrainian metal festival is Metal Head Mission. We participated in it several times. This year we also played on Metalfest in Poland and unfortunately the level of organisation and sound of our festival is much worse.

The economies in eastern Europe are growing. Things must be changing rapidly in Ukraine as well. How does that affect Hell-On? Do you also get inspiration for songs/lyrics from Old Mother Russia versus Ukraine 2012 or the time behind the Iron Curtain? You guys must have grown up in quite a different situation from the situation in your country right now? Some things in the West, we even cannot imagine?
Of course economical changes influence every part of our life. We had times not very long ago (maybe ten fifteen years ago) when people in our country didnt get their salaries from three to twelve months. And nobody cared how you should survive. So nobody thought about any kind of music. At that time metal heads were very rare. Society was very hostile to long hair, cut jeans, metal t-shirts. I think this is because people were angry because of their poverty and ideological pressing. You mentioned the Iron Curtain. It was a really hard time for creative people. We were children when it was destroyed but all the same we have the memories of those times. Now we are also a part of world globalisation so the differences between our country and Europe become less visible. The taking down of the Iron Curtain also opened the way for our favourite metal bands into our country. Now its common for us to listen to world metal leaders at our home country, but twenty years ago that was really almost unbelievable.

Are you guys agreed on a favourite song on Age Of Oblivion? Which song or songs do you think will hit hardest?
We would not separate certain song as the best. We love all of them (otherwise they wouldnt be on the album). But the songs are slightly different so one song is cool because it is very energetic, some because it has groove and so on. However, I would like to make a special mention of the last song Satan. It was really an interesting experience for us adding an orchestra.

Any famous last words for the Lords of Metal readers?
Check out our new album! We hope you will like it! And you should know, that Ukraine it is not only brothers Klitchko, Yulia Timoshenko and Andrey Shevchenko. Now it is Hell:on, hehehe 🙂
Keep Metal!

Bevor die Thrasher von HELL:ON im Herbst 2013 für ein paar Konzerte nach Deutschland zurückkehren, haben wir bei der Band aus der Ukraine mal kurz nachgehakt und uns ein paar Fragen beantworten lassen.
Ein besonderer Dank gilt CRAVING-Bassist Leo, der dieses Interview ins Russische und wieder zurück übersetzt hat.

 

Als Band aus der Ukraine hat man es vermutlich ziemlich schwer, seine Musik einer breiten Masse – speziell auch in West-Europa – zugänglich zu machen. Wie sehen eure Pläne dahingehend aus?
Stimmt, eine Menge Europäer wissen nicht mal, dass unser Land existiert. Zum Glück hat sich das nach der Fußball-WM 2012 erheblich gebessert. Was uns angeht, wir spielen bereits seit 2009 Gigs im Ausland. Wir haben in Polen angefangen, spielten auch schon in der Tschechischen Republik, in Ungarn und in Slowenien. Letztes Jahr haben wir auch drei Konzerte in Deutschland gegeben. Und diesen Herbst wollen wir für einige Gigs zurückkommen. Abseits der Bühne arbeiteten wir mit der deutschen Promo-Agentur SureShotWorx zusammen und ich denke, das verhalf uns zu vielen guten Resonanzen in den europäischen Medien, als wir letztes Jahr unser drittes Album “Age Of Oblivion” veröffentlichten.

Wie steht es in der Ukraine generell um die Metal-Szene?
Die ukrainische Metalszene wächst extrem schnell. Jahr für Jahr kommen mehr gute Clubs hinzu, mehr gute Bands und mehr gute Promoter. Es könnte noch besser laufen, aber wegen unserer instabilen Wirtschaftslage haben die Leute eben andere Dinge im Kopf als Musik – die meisten müssen sehen, wie sie mit ihrem Einkommen über die Runden kommen. Auf der anderen Seite macht aber auch gerade das die Szene so stark: Wir müssen uns alles hart erarbeiten – und das schlägt sich auch in der Musik und der Mentalität in der Szene nieder.

Auf eurem letzten Album “Age Of Oblivion” befindet sich mit “Punk Guys” eine Coverversion von Master. Warum habt ihr genau diesen Titel gewählt?
Zum 25. Jubiläum von MASTER wollte deren Label eine Tribute-Compilation zusammenstellen und hat uns gefragt, ob wir nicht einen Song dafür aufnehmen wollen. Die Wahl fiel auf “Punk Guys”. Ein tolles Stück mit einer coolen Old School Thrash Metal-Atmosphäre, auf das wir uns schnell einigen konnten. Wir waren mit der Aufnahme derart glücklich, dass wir den Song unbedingt auf dem Album haben wollten und glücklicherweise hatten die Jungs von MASTER nichts dagegen.

Wie kam die Zusammenarbeit mit Annihilator’s Jeff Waters zustande, der zu “My Doll” ein Gastsolo beigesteuert hat?
Noch bevor wir mit dem Songwriting anfingen, spielten wir mit der Idee, einen Gastmusiker auf dem Album zu haben. Jeff war da ganz klar ein Wunschkandidat. Während der Produktion schickten wir ihm also eine Aufnahme und fragten ihn, ob er Lust hätte, darauf ein Solo zu spielen – als Antwort kam dieses unglaubliche Stück Gitarrenarbeit, welches auf dem Song zu hören ist. Wir sind wirklich glücklich und geehrt, einen der besten Metal-Gitarristen überhaupt auf unserem Album zu haben!

Wie würdet ihr generell eure musikalischen Einflüsse beschreiben?
Naja, jeder in der Band hat einen etwas anderen Geschmack. Was wir alle lieben, sind die klassischen Sachen, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Hard’n’Heavy usw. – Slayer, Sepultura, aber auch Iron Maiden und Ozzy. Morbid Angel und Cannibal Corpse auf der einen Seite, Judas Priest und Dio auf der anderen … so viele Namen, haha! All das hat uns beeinflusst, aber wir versuchen auch, unseren eigenen Weg zu gehen, statt nur zu kopieren. Wir versuchen, all diese Einflüsse in uns aufzunehmen und durch unsere Persönlichkeiten als Klang in die Welt zurückfließen zu lassen.

Gibt es schon Pläne für ein neues Album? Was könnt ihr dazu bereits verraten?
Wir arbeiten gerade an einem neuen Album, welches im Herbst erscheinen wird. Wir werden im Mai in das Studio gehen, in welchem wir schon unser letztes Album aufgenommen hatten – Tony Alion Productions in Zaporozhye in der Ukraine. Das Album wird “Hunt” heißen und wir werden mit Andy LaRoque (King Diamond, Death, At The Gates) wieder einen tollen Gastmusiker an Bord haben. Ich denke, das neue Material hat stärkere Death Metal-Einflüsse, es erinnert uns ein wenig an unser Debüt “Strong Enough”, auf dem wir ebenfalls Death Metal-Elemente verwendeten, die wir aber auf den letzten Alben ein wenig vernachlässigt haben.

Ihr wart zuletzt Ende 2012 für ein paar Gigs in Deutschland. Wie wurdet ihr vom deutschen Publikum aufgenommen und welches sind die grundlegendsten Unterschiede zu Konzerten in der Ukraine?
Naja, wir haben bisher gerade mal drei Shows in Deutschland gespielt, das heißt, wir haben noch nicht allzu viel gesehen und erlebt. Aber es hat uns wirklich Spaß gemacht, die Leute haben wie wild geheadbangt und natürlich unsere Shirts und CDs gekauft, haha! Was die Unterschiede zwischen Konzerten in Deutschland und in der Ukraine angeht … frag das doch noch einmal, nachdem wir die Tour im Herbst hinter uns haben!

Wie sehen generell eure Pläne für die Zukunft aus?
Zuerst werden wir im Sommer das Album beenden. Dann werden wir auf Europa-Tour gehen und dieses Album bewerben. Außerdem spielen natürlich auch in der Ukraine einige Konzerte. Vielleicht nehmen wir auch einen Videoclip zu einem der neuen Songs auf, wer weiß.

Hell:On aus der Ukraine beweisen, dass Metal aus Osteuropa noch viel zu selten zu uns nach Deutschland her?berschwappt. Mit ihrem neusten Werk “The Age of Oblivion” wurde ich das erste mal auf diese Band aufmerksam, die sich nun das Ziel gesetzt hat, auch die deutschen Metal-Fans von ihrer Kunst zu ?berzeugen. Ein Unterfangen was mit ihrer Musik keinesfalls mehr unm?glich sein wird. Gitarrist Alexey Pasko erl?uterte mir schlie?lich die musikalischen Besonderheiten in der Ukraine und nat?rlich auch die interessanten und ausf?hrlichen Band-Geschichten…

Interview was prepared by Steffi M?ller (MyRevelations)
Answering: Alexey Pasko (HELL:ON)

1) Hallo Alex, wann wurde Hell:On eigentlich gegr?ndet?
Unsere Band wurde im Jahre 2005 in der Stadt Zaporozhye in der Ukraine gegr?ndet. Alle Mitglieder von Hell:On kannten sich schon aus fr?heren Zeiten. Man traf sich bereits lange vor der Band-Gr?ndung immer mal wieder auf den ?rtlichen Konzerten und Veranstaltungen. Und jeder von uns war irgendwie musikalisch aktiv. Sei es im Black Metal- oder im Speed-Bereich. Unser Schlagzeuger Oleg und ich entschieden uns irgendwann einmal dazu, etwas weit aus ernsthafteres ins Leben zu rufen. Und so wurde Hell:On gegr?ndet. Wir luden Freunde ein, bei der Sache mit zu machen, so dass schlie?lich unser Bassist Alexander und unser zweiter Gitarrist Anton mit einstiegen. Anton wurde dann schlie?lich von einem anderen Gitarristen abgel?st, der komischerweise auch Anton hei?t, und nein, es ist keine Aufnahmebedingung unsere Band unbedingt Anton hei?en zu m?ssen!!(lacht)
Als letztes stie? dann unser S?nger Alex dazu. Wir hatten das gro?e Gl?ck schon einen Monat nach unserer Gr?ndung auf dem ukrainischen Festival “Metal Heads Mission” spielen zu d?rfen. Eines der gr??ten Festival in der Ukraine. Ein schneller und ?berraschender Band-Start, der es uns erm?glichte, die B?hne mit Napalm Death teilen zu d?rfen.

2) Ihr kanntet euch also alle schon aus den guten alten Zeiten?
Ja, wir wurden alle in Zeparozhye geboren. Und alle von uns lieben Metal. Es bleibt also nicht aus, dass man sich auf so einem kleinen Flecken Erde und mit dem selben Musik-Geschmack irgendwann einmal ?ber den Weg l?uft, auch wenn man es manchmal vielleicht vermeiden wollte (lacht)!

3) Und was ist derzeit euer gr??tes Motiv immer weiter zu machen?
Oh, diese Antwort ist ganz einfach: Es ist der Rock’n’Roll!

4) Was hat es denn mit dem Band-Namen “Hell:On” auf sich?
Zu Beginn hie? unsere Band eigentlich “Hellion”. In der Ukraine war dieser Name eigentlich nie ein Problem. Aber als wir dann aber begannen, unsere Musik auch europaweit zu vertreiben, bekamen wir schnell ?rger mit den Urheber-Rechten. In Europa gibt es also bereits Bands, die Hellion hei?en. Also probierten wir den Namen wenigstens mit visuellen Effekten zu ver?ndern. Aus dem i wurde ein Doppelpunkt! Und irgendwie ist die neue Namens-Version weit aus interessanter!

5) Wie w?rdet ihr eure Musik unseren Lesern beschreiben, die von eurem ukrainischen Metal noch nie etwas geh?rt haben?
Wir nennen unsere Musik Thrash-Death-Groove-Metal! Wie auch immer, es ist immer sehr schwer den eigenen Stil mit nur wenigen Worten zu beschreiben. Au?erdem wollen wir immer etwas Heimatgeschichte mit hinein bringen. In unserem Fall ist das ganze also auch Kosaken-Metal. Die Kosaken waren im 17. Jahrhundert kriegerische Reiterstaffeln. Und unsere Heimatstadt Zaporozhye stammten die ersten dieser Krieger.

6) Euer neustes Album tr?gt den Namen “Oblivion”, was so viel wie “Vergessenheit” bedeutet. Was hat es mit dem Titel auf sich?
Ja, unser eigentliche Namen “Age of Oblivion” beschreibt eigentlich alles das, was auch von uns ausgedr?ckt wird. Wir alle leben in einem Zeitalter, in dem so viel Vergessen und Verdr?ngt wird. Manche von uns wissen doch noch nicht einmal mehr, was und wie sie selber sind. Und f?r was man leben soll! Jeder rennt nur noch dem Geld, der Gesundheit und der guten Nachrichten und dem Gl?ck hinter her und das besteht ja angeblich nur noch daraus, sich gewisse und bezahlbare Gegenst?nde leisten zu k?nnen. Eigentlich l?cherlich! Aber wir gehen etwas tiefer, schaut euch unser Cover an, das werdet ihr einige Symbole und Ideen von uns finden k?nnen.

7) Es gibt also ein spezielles literarisches Thema auf eurer CD?
Oh, wir haben so viele Kleinigkeiten und eigene Ideen in dieses Album gesteckt, es ist schwer diese zu einem Thema zusammen zu fassen. Als Musiker sollte man auch manchmal nicht zu viel ?ber seine Musik reden, sondern die Musik auch selber erz?hlen lassen.

8) Gibt es Bands, die euch besonders inspirierten?
Wir haben alle einen so unterschiedlichen Musik-Geschmack. Und h?ren auch Musik, die nicht aus der gro?artigen Metal-Welt kommt. Aber unsere Gro?en-Drei sind nat?rlich: Metallica, Slayer und Sepultura!

9) Welchen Song von “Age Of Oblivion” w?rdest Du als deinen Lieblings-Song bezeichnen?
Ich liebe den Song “Satan”! Dieser ist sehr emotional. Aber man muss ihn auch klar von den anderen Songs trennen. Immerhin haben wir bei diesem Song den gro?en Versuch gestartet orchestrale Melodien mit einzubauen. Nach meiner Meinung sollte man das Album vom ersten zum letzten Song durch h?ren, und keinesfalls die Reihenfolge der St?cke ?ndern. Ich liebe es wenn Alben wie ein ewiger Song klingen. Und ich hoffe, wir haben das auf unserer CD hin bekommen!

10) Wie entstehen eigentlich eure Songs?
Wir schreiben unsere St?cke ganz klassisch. Unsere Gitarristen bringen fertige Riffs mit, dann ordnen wir sie zusammen, setzten sie um, bauen ein paar neue Effekte mit ein und legen das Arrangement fest. Dann kommen unser Bassist und unser Schlagzeuger dazu, die beiden ?ndern alles wieder von vorne und stellen die ganze gemachte Arbeit wider um (lacht!), so dass wir am Ende endlich die Lyriks drunter setzen k?nnen. Und die Texte ergeben sich aus dem, was gerade in einem vorgeht oder was die Geschichte gerade so mit sich bringt.

11) Wer hat bei eurem neusten Werk eigentlich das Cover gezeichnet?
Ja, das Artwork wurde von einem sehr talentierten Kerl namens Seeming Watcher gezeichnet. Aber die ganzen Ideen und alle gezeichneten Symbole entstanden weit aus fr?her. Schon mit unserer ersten EP “In The Shadow Of Emptiness” hatten wir tausende Ideen, die ihr nun auf unserem Cover sehen k?nnt. Also haben wir einfach nur das weitergef?hrt, was mit der letzten EP begonnen wurde!

12) Wie k?nnen wir uns die Metal-Szene in der Ukraine vorstellen?
In der Ukraine ist Metal noch totaler Underground. Wir haben zwar einige interessante Bands, aber unsere Musik-Industrie interessiert sich nicht f?r Metal! Die ukrainischen Produzenten wollen Pop h?ren und machen. Mit Folk kannst Du in unserem Land auch Erfolg haben. Aber den Heavy Metal in der Ukraine bekannt zu machen, ist sehr hart. Wir werden trotzdem weiter machen, getreu nach dem Motto: “Was uns nicht umbringt, macht uns nur h?rter”!(lacht)

13) Also kann man in der Ukraine nicht vom Heavy Metal leben?
Oh nein, niemals! Wir w?rden es gerne, aber das geht nicht. Aber es hat nat?rlich auch seine gute Seiten, mehrere Standbeine zu haben ? so haben wir Bauarbeiter, B?nker, Web-Designer, Elektro-Ingenieure und Tontechniker bei uns in der Band.

14) Habt ihr schon mal in Deutschland gespielt??
Nein, wir waren leider noch nie in Deutschland! Aber wir werden ab Oktober in Deutschland zu sehen sein. Wir m?gen die deutsche Metal-Szene. Zum Beispiel das letzte Album von Kreator – “Phantom Antichrist” lief in meinem Player einen ganzen Monat lang. (Und das ist f?r mich schon eine Ewigkeit!) Und wir haben mit Kreator schon einige Konzerte in der Ukraine und in Polen gespielt. Bands wie Rage, Sodom, ja sogar In Extremo gefallen mir auch. Ich denke Deutschland ist mit die gr??te Hauptstadt des Heavy Metal!

15) Was sind demnach die gr??ten Unterschiede zwischen der ukrainischen und der deutschen Metal-Szene?
Die deutsche Metal-Szene ist sehr professionell und klasse organisiert. Das gibt es in der Ukraine nicht. Weitere Unterschiede k?nnen wir euch erz?hlen, wenn wir jetzt endlicheinmal dort gewesen sind (lacht)!

16) Was war das gr??te Event, das ihr mit Hell:On bereits erleben durftet?
Das war in diesem Jahr das “Metalfest” in Polen. Wir haben dort mit Megadeth, Kreator, WASP und Soulfly gespielt. Alles tolle Bands. Das war ein unglaubliches Erlebnis f?r uns. Vielleicht auch noch das “Prorock Festival” in Polen, dass wir mit Arch Enemy, Sodom und Vader spielen durften.

17) Was sind die n?chsten Pl?ne f?r Hell:On?
Jetzt ab Oktober werden wir erstmals auf Europa-Tour gehen und dabei f?nf L?nder besuchen: Polen, die Tschechoslowakei, die Slowakei, Ungarn und Deutschland! Nach dieser Reise geht es an den ersten Video-Dreh! Bevor wir eine kleinere Tour in der Ukraine spielen!

18) Gibt es also noch irgendeinen Ort, wo ihr unbedingt mal auftreten wollt?
Oh jaaaaa, Wacken!!!

19) Was ist das wichtigste f?r euch beim Thema Heavy Metal?
Heavy Metal besitzt Power! Er gibt dir eine spezielle eine Art von Freiheit! Und irgendetwas von ihm, hat sich tief in unsere Gene festgesetzt, so dass so viele Menschen von ihm gepackt werden. Heavy Metal ist die pure Energie, die die Menschenmassen bewegt!

20) M?chtest du zum Schluss unseren Lesern noch etwas mit auf den Weg geben?
Ja, wir wissen, dass ihr noch nicht viel vom Heavy Metal aus der Ukraine kennt. Aber wir werden unsere Musik so gut es geht auch in Deutschland repr?sentieren. H?rt euch unsere CDs an und schaut auf unsere Webseite: www.hell-on.net! Und dr?ckt uns die Daumen, dass wir irgendwann auch auf den gro?en Festivals in Deutschland spielen d?rfen! Danke!

1) Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
The main decision about Hell:on came to us in 2005. We already knew each other and occasionally played together in different other bands, then we decided to make something more serious – so Hell:on was born. Several months after the foundation we participated in one of the biggest Ukrainian metal festivals – Metal Heads Mission. We played on the one stage with Napalm Death, so the start was really great. At this date (the end of 2012) we have three full albums, several EP and video clips, and nine tours (four of which were European).

2) How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
We play thrash/groove/death metal. However it greatly depends on the album. Each our album is slightly different. We love to joke that we play Cossack metal – the origin city of Hell:On is Zaporozhye, which was the cradle of freedom loving Cossacks (Ukrainian warriors).
Bands that influenced our activity are Metallica, Slayer and Sepultura. Of course the list is much more longer but those are the major ones.

3) Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Actually, we come to play, not to sell something. The Music is the only reason why we do what we do. We just trying to do our best. And we hope people will believe us. Becouse our emotions is true, our passion inside our tracks. And we hope the reason should be the same when you buy the CDs of Metallica, Slayer and Sepultura (as you already know the list is not full). At least we strive to such level.

4) What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
We released three full albums: “Strong Enough” (2006), “Reborn” (2008) and “Age of Oblivion” (2012). We also have the video clips, you can find it on a youtube.
According to the reviews of different web and paper magazines and different sites of metal music, people like our music. Concerts and gigs only prove this!

5) Do you play live as well? How’s your live activity so far?
Yes, we play a lot. We have rather big amount of separate concerts and festivals. We had nine tours four of which were European. We try to have two tours per year (each tour is about two-three weeks long). Of course we would like to have more long tour with some more credible band then ours.

6) What sould labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
First of all we want and can work. And we love what we doing. We can make great shows. We have good skills as musicians. However it’s up to you to decide 😉

7) What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
We plan to make a video on one of the songs from our new album “Age of Oblivion”. We would like to invite some rock star musician to participate in our next album. Next summer we will play on a several big openair festivals in Europe. And for sure next year we will start to make new album.

8) Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
We have official site, and lot of different social web accounts like myspace and facebook. You can check: www.hell-on.net
About buying something you can contact with our label: http://metalscrap.org.ua/

1) Hello, thanks for answering to our questions. What are you guys currently up to?
Hello. Thanks for your kind attention for the activity of our band. Now we are resting after the fourth European tour – if it is possible to say so because immediately after the return everyone went to work.

2) First off, could you make some history of the band?
Our band was founded in 2005. We already new each other and occasionally played together in different other bands, then we decided to make something more serious – so Hellion was born. However when we started to promote our band in Europe we had to change the name to Hell:On as Hellion already existed. Two months after the foundation we participated in one of the biggest Ukrainian metal festivals – Metal Heads Mission. So the start was really great. At this date (the end of 2012) we have three full albums, several EP and video clips, and nine tours (four of which were European).

3) How could you describe your sound?
It’s nice to hear some new question (nobody asked it before). I would say that it is a fusion of old school and contemporary metal. The whole sound is made by our sound engineer who is also our guitarist – Anton. However we argue sometimes about the sound. As for me I like the sound of Slayer (not very clean and shrill) as well as the sound of Pantera (sterile distinct). So maybe that IS the fusion…

4) What are the band’s main musical influences?
Metallica, Slayer and Sepultura. The list is far to longer but those are the “fathers”.

5) How is the feedback for your new album being?
We are highly marked by different webzines, paper magazines and metal web sites. Now we already have about 70-80 reviews from all Europe and still receiving it. During our touring new material was accepted very positively by the metal heads.

6) And are your personally satisfied with the final outcome?
Yes, we are satisfied with the final result. We received almost all that we planned when there were no or maybe just few songs of this album. This work is a turning point in a certain sense. It expresses all our skills which we developed during the existence of Hell:On. The music style of the band is completed. At least at this stage – however who knows what surprise will be our next album…

7) How could you describe this opus in just 3 words?
Metal Up YourAss!!! (sorry I had to write Your Ass as one word to make a three word expression).

8) How has the production process for your new release been?
The process was quite usual. We gathered to rehearse and guitarists brought new riffs. Sometimes new riffs were composed just during the rehearsal. Then we put all this together, arranged it, rearranged. Again rearranged and that’s it. During the recording of the album we had one huge problem – we’ve lost all the material due to the failure of the hard drive. So we recorded the album twice. However the material stayed totally unchanged.

9) And how do you use to work on the songwriting?
As I mentioned almost everything was arranged during the rehearsals. There are some songs which were arranged by all the musicians, there are some which were arranged by not all. I would emphasise the last song of the album. It was the song (at least the idea of the song) which was born rather long ago and it was growing till the very album. We discussed the idea of it with the guitarist Alex during the touring nights. The name of the song is Satan – however it is about eternal fight of evil and good (as in fairytales). At first we had only images in our minds and we thought that the idea of the song would be expressed only by the instruments, but suddenly the words were born (really very quickly).

10) Finally, what are you near-future plans?
We plan to make a video on one of the songs from our new album “Age of Oblivion”. We would like to invite some rock star musician to participate in our next album. And we plan to have more prolonged tour with some band of higher echelon.

11) That’s all from our side, thanks again for taking your time to answer our questions. If you now want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
Thank you for interviewing us. We would like to wish all people to listen to good music. I intently said “all people” because metal heads already listen to the best!

With remarkable artwork and a production job designed to cleave flesh from bone with frightening efficiency, Hell:on are a genuinely exciting force in thrash metal. Hailing from the Ukraine, the band seemingly appeared from nowhere in 2005, going from formation to playing a major metal festival in just over a month – a feat that is only surprising if you haven’t heard the quality of the band’s music and the passion of their delivery. ‘Age of oblivion’ is the band’s third full length album which, despite some recording troubles, is a furious, state-of-the-art thrash monster that even boasts an appearance from guitar legend Jeff Waters (of the mighty Annihilator) on one track. Varied and intelligent we loved every bristling moment of ‘Age of Oblivion’ and felt that it would be the perfect opportunity to talk to the band about their formation, inspiration and development. If you’ve already discovered Hell:on, then read on and learn more about their latest work; if you have yet to discover their charms then acquaint yourself with the band as soon as possible. ‘Age of oblivion’ is out now and comes highly recommended.

Interview was prepared by Phil /SonicAbuse/
Answering: Alexandr (vocal) and Alexey (guitar) /HELL:ON/

 

1) First of all could you introduce us to the world of Hell:On and tell us how the band formed?
The band was founded in 2005 in Zaporozhye city, Ukraine. All the members of Hell:On knew each other far earlier than band’s foundation. We met at local concerts as friends and participants. Before Hell:On the musicians participated in projects of different styles from speed to black metal. Then the drummer Oleg and guitarist Alexey decided to make something more serious – and the band was founded. They invited their friend – basist Alexander and second guitarist Anton, who was later substituted by another guitarist with the same name, Anton– it was pure coincidence, we didn’t try to find a guitarist with the same name! The last member who joined the band was the vocalist Alex. Just a month after its foundation Hell:On participated in one of the biggest Ukrainian metal festivals – Metal Heads Mission, so the start was very fast.

2) What bands inspired you as musicians to form a band?
Our big three – Metallica, Sepultura, Slayer.

3) It seems that Hell:on had a baptism of fire playing at the Metal heads mission festival in the same year that you formed – what impact did playing such an event have on the band?
It was a really great motivation for development and movement. It was like a childhood dream – to share a big stage with big bands. By the way the headliner of that year was Napalm Death.

4) Looking at your biography it seems that the band is always working – is it difficult to manage personal and work commitments against such a full-on schedule of performing and recording?
Yes, it’s rather difficult to do all this. We are not rock stars (I hope that’s only for now) so we have to work. And almost all vacation time is spent for the concerts, recording and touring. But we love it – in other case it would be almost impossible to have such life schedule because sometimes playing (especially during the touring) is physically hard.

5) ‘Age of oblivion’ is a very confident and varied work – how long did it take to write and record the album?
I suppose the material was written in two-three months (we decided to compose right before the album – thus it becomes more uniform). But the process of recording took almost a year. I can say that we recorded this album twice. The first material was lost due to hard disc failure. It was not possible to restore the data so we recorded the album once again.

6) Lyrically the album is very well crafted – how difficult is it to develop lyrics in a second language?
It’s rather difficult. I try to improve my command of English all the time by reading English books and watching movies in English. I try to start thinking in English, and what is more important my wife is a professional translator so I always have a great support in composing my lyrics.

7) Have you written any songs in Ukrainian and why the decision to write in English?
The major reason why we write in English is because we are oriented towards Europe. Metal music in Ukraine is still at the underground level. The second reason is our big three J (see question number two). We even didn’t try to write any metal song in Ukrainian language because it’s somehow sounds not serious in our native language. But folk Ukrainian songs are very beautiful (btw our language is one of the most melodious languages in the world).

8) What inspires the lyrics and thematic development of the albums?
The main inspiration is our world view which is formed by movies, music, books, friends, life – everything.

9) One song that sticks out from the album is ‘Punk guys’ which is musically very different from anything else on the record – what was the inspiration behind that particular song?
Once we were asked to make a cover for the Russian metal band – Master. We have chosen this song in particular (it was originally written in English). And then we asked their permission to add this song to our album.

10) Getting Jeff Waters of Annihilator to appear on one song is quite an achievement – how did you manage to organise that?
This happened thanks to our guitarist and manager Alexey. He got in touch with Jeff Waters’ manager and asked about making a solo for Ukrainian metal band (Hell:On). After some time of conversations the job was perfectly done!

11) The cover art for the album is pretty awesome – how involved are the band in that side of things and who actually designed the cover?
The creator’s name is Seeming Watcher, it is very talanted guy from Ukraine, and he did a great job for us. But if we talking about ideas, it seems like we involved him in a processJ We had a conception of artwork before we started to talk with a designer, everything, even all small detailes were discussed before working. We wanted to make a very serious work with this album and it has a deep things inside, doesn’t it?

12) You’ve played widely across Eastern Europe – are there any plans to head into Western Europe at all?
Yes, now we want to focus on the Western part of Europe, we will start this October with a big tour and we will visit Germany, for example. And in the summer time we want participate in several big festivals in a Western Europe especially.

13) In the UK we don’t hear a whole lot about the Ukrainian metal scene – what other bands would you recommend our readers to check out besides hell:on?
In Ukraine there is a lof of different metal bands, but everything in a deep underground. We have a very strong black/pagan metal scene with a bands like: Nokturnal Mortum, Khors, Drudkh, Natural Spirit. We also have a couple of strong power metal bands like: Conquest, Morton. In thrash it is Hell:on, of course, also Crusher and Violent Omen.

14) Both ‘Strong Enough’ and ‘Re:born’ were reissued in 2011 – where can readers get hold of these releases if they want to check out your back catalogue and what is the best website to find out more about the band?
Both albums you can get through our label (Metal Scrap/Total Metal Records). But as i know, it has a big distribution in your country with a Plastic Head/ Code 7. Anyway, you can visit our official website: www.hell-on.net

15) What ambitions do the band have now – what’s next for Hell:on?
Now we are ready for European tour, after finishing, probably, we will make a videoclip. And maybe we will do a small tour over Ukraine. Actually, of course we want represent Ukraine as well as it is possible for all Europe, so wait for us on the big festivals)))

16) Any final words for your UK fans?
He-he)) a couple of my favorite bands like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath from England, so you have great music history in your country. Our mission – to tell all the world that Ukraine has a great musical potential too, and we will prove it! Wait for us in UK and enjoy our new album, you will not be disapointed!

Hell:On is an Ukranian Death/Thrash Metal Band that is ready to conquer the fucking world. Here’s a cool interview with one of the members of the band.
This is Paul from Soulgrinder Zine and I’m here with Alex from Hell:on

Interview was prepared by Paul (Soulgrinder Zine)

 

1) For those who are not yet familiar with Hell:On, give us some info on the band and tell us who does what in the band.
We are ukrainian metal band HELL:ON and we began to play in the spring of 2005. In the course of the creation of the songs it turned out that the musical material was a fusion of Thrash, Death and Groove Metal, which corresponded to the different aspirations of the musicians.Now we released three full-length albums and ready to release fourth at 25th of November via britishgerman
label Ferrrum.

2) What are the difficulties and differences between playing live and when you are recording?
These are different types of works and both of them has its own specific features of course. We love to work in studio and we love to touring. I’m even cannot tell you about any disadvantages, because music it’s our passion and we really mad about what we do. Of course, on our way we find a lot of troubles, but it doesn’t matter, what doesn’t kill us – makes us stronger.

3) What are your favorite bands? Any new good bands from your country you’d like to mention here? If you had to pick your three all-time favourite metal (or other) bands who would they be and why? Where do you draw influences from? Are they all rooted in old school Thrash?
There are a lot of bands that we are really like. But mostly our interests cross with our “big three”. Slayer, Metallica, Sepultura. As you see there is not only old school thrash:). Of course this is only small part of bands that we are listening to. We all have different tastes in music and this is not only metal music. We see the influence of some “big” bands not in a blind copy or inheritance of classical riffs, but in the inheritance of the spirit of their creativity, its processing through the prism of our perception. And I think this is the only right way to create some individual things, with its own face and style.
Regarding Ukraine, we have here very strong and fast growing metal stage and lots of great bands. We have several big names like Khors, Morton, Hell:on of course 🙂

4) What three books and movies would you consider essential?
Very difficult question. You know, the man and his mind, tastes and interests is not a static entity, but a dynamic ever-evolving system. So it is very difficult to stop at one thing. Today I am inspired by a book or movie, it could be changed tomorrow.

5) What can we expect of the newer Hell:On material?
On this album you will find more influence of death metal than previously. It is still thrash metal, but we developed our skills and our music is grew with us. We became more professional, more skilful, more interesting as a musicians. On this album we invited to play with us Andy LaRoque (King Diamond, Death) and Marek “Spider” Pajak (Vader) and of course their participation also made a mark on our new album.

6) There’s some quite interesting album artwork. Can you tell me more about it?
Yes, Artwork was done by talented greek painter Seth Siro Anton, leader of death metal machine Septic Flesh. We have long been familiar with his work and consider it a great artist. He is not just able to create a good picture, he understands the essence of metal music. That’s why we chose him. We had conception of this album (titled Hunt) and we explained him our thoughts about it. He is well understood our ideas and implemented them in his trademark manner. We are very satisfied with our cooperation.

7) Any Hell:On exclusives you can give us?
Yes, during the recording of us had an accident, which is worth paying attention to. We have entrusted the part of the work on the album to James Murphy, paid him a deposit. He stole our money and did nothing of the promise. It is unprofessional and despicable. Do not have any deals with that bastard.

8) What kind of touring plans does the band have?
We proud to announce that we nominated like best metal act 2013 in Ukraine and will play on a big ceremony in October in Kiev. Later in October we will start European tour with Sinful and Craving and we will visit Poland, Germany, Belgium and Czech Republic with concerts. Also till the end of the year we will play several shows in Ukraine.

9) If you could tour with one band, past or present, who would it be and why?
He-he, Slayer maybe))) it will be like dreams come true. But, really, this list of wishes could be very big.

10) How long would you say it took to write, record and produce “Age of Oblivion”? Was it relatively fast?
It seems we spent about a couple years to make a third album. After “Re:Born” (2008), we released an EP “In the Shadow of Emptiness” in 2010 and this EP was like a first step to understanding how new album will look. So, composing of materials took a couple year for sure. Also we had accident with a studio, when all materials were damaged and we started to record everything again. So, it was very long and distant way to the “Age of Oblivion”. But we gained a big experience of studio work.

11) How did you get involved with Metal Scrap Records?
Metal Scrap is a best metal label in Ukraine. After we collaborated with the rerelease of our second album “Re:Born”, we realized that this is the best option for us. And so there was no doubt who have to publish our new release. Metal Scrap team are very good people and real professionals.

12) What does the future hold for Hell: On? What are your plans for 2013-2014?
After release of the new album and European tour we have a plan to make a music video. Also we will start working over new album; I suppose it will be ready in 2014. And then it will be European tour again.

13) What merchandise do you have available?
We have several types of T-Shirt, also badges and other small things. You can order it just contact with us through our official pages: www.hell-on.net

14) Well good luck with your album and tour, and thanks very much for your time. This space is for you.
Thank you very much Paul for your attention to our band and see you on the concerts!

Metal uit Oekra?ne is niet het eerste waar je aan denkt. Toch is de sc?ne in Oekra?ne groeiende. Hell:On bracht onlangs Age Of Oblivion uit. Een reden om deze exponent van de Oekra?ense metal eens aan de tand te voelen. Een kort gesprek met gitarist Alexey Pasko en zanger Alexander Baev.

Interview was prepared by Ralf W. /White Room/
Answering: Alexey Pasko (guitar), Alexander Baev (vocal)

1) Op Age Of Oblivion vindt men krachtige metal die laat horen dat ze naar de grote bands hebben geluisterd. De vraag is welke bands van invloed zijn geweest op het schrijfproces van hun nieuwe plaat.
‘Ik kan zeggen dat al onze drie platen voornamelijk be?nvloed zijn door drie bands: Metallica, Slayer en Sepultura. Natuurlijk is dat geen volledige lijst van wat we leuk vinden, maar het is wel de belangrijkste kern. Toch denk ik dat onze muziek anders is dan die van de genoemde bands. Dat heeft ook te maken met andere factoren. Onze gedachtegang, onze levensstijl, de boeken die we lezen, de films die we zien en ook het touren. Na een tournee barsten we van de energie en die transformeren we in de nieuwe muziek.’

2) Hoe gaat het schrijfproces van de nummers?
‘Het schrijfproces gaat ongeveer als volgt. We komen samen in de oefenruimte. Daar spelen de gitaristen de riffs die ze hebben geschreven voor. Daar bouwen we een arrangement om. En sommige riffs ontstaan als we jammen. En als de basis van een nummer af is, krijgt ied ereen huiswerk mee om het nummer op te fleuren. Pas als laatste komen de vocalen erbij. Als het muzikale gedeelte af is, dan is het duidelijk waar het couplet en het refrein zit. Tot op heden hebben we nog nooit tijdens een tournee nummers geschreven.

3) Opvallend aan Age Of Oblivion is het gastoptreden van gitarist Jeff Waters, van Annihilator. Hij speelt een solo in het nummer ‘My Doll’. Hoe zijn jullie in contact gekomen met Jeff?
‘Voordat we aan de slag gingen met dit album, leek het ons leuk om iemand van een van onze favoriete bands uit te nodigen om een duit in het zakje te doen. We hebben meerdere personen aangeschreven en Jeff [Waters] was er een van. Hij had de brief beantwoord en zijn samenwerking toegezegd. Daarna hebben we veel gesproken over het hoe en wat, over de voorwaarden en vooral ook over welk nummer. En uiteindelijk is het resultaat daar. De solo van Jeff Waters in ‘My Doll’ is een van mijn favoriete fragmenten van het album. Hij is echt een groots muzikant en gitarist. En ‘My Doll’ onderstreept dat.’

4) In Nederland is de Oekra?ense metalsc?ne niet erg bekend. Hoe is het metalwereldje daar?
‘De metalsc?ne in Oekra?ne is volop in ontwikkeling. Als je het moest vergelijken met een mensenleven, dan zit die op ongeveer 12 jaar. We krijgen meer dan ooit de kans om in Europa te spelen. Daar zie je dat alles altijd goed geregeld is. Dat is in Oekra?ne nog niet het geval. Er is ook weinig rock en metal op de tv, waardoor het nog beperkt blijft tot het undergroundcircuit.’

5) Tot slot, wat zijn de plannen voor jullie na de release van Age Of Oblivion?
‘In oktober gaan we op tournee door vijf Europese landen ter promotie van het album. We starten in Polen, om dan via Tsjechi? naar Duitsland te gaan. Daarna doen we Polen weer aan. Vervolgens gaan we naar Slowakije en Hongarije. In november spelen wat shows in Oekra?ne. Daar spelen we ook op het ‘In Thrash We Trust’-festival. Daarnaast zullen we ook een videoclip gaan opnemen die eind dit jaar uit moet komen.’

Von den Bandnamen MORIA und HELL:ON mag man eventuell schon etwas gehört haben, was sich jedoch sonst noch so tut in der Metal-Szene der Ukraine, der Heimat dieser beiden Formationen, ist hierzulande wohl nur ganz wenigen Insidern bekannt. Zusammen mit meinem Kollegen Eugen habe ich daher versucht einen Einblick in diese zu verschaffen, wobei wir dafür Alex Pasko, der als Gitarrist in beiden genannten Formationen aktiv ist und Anatolij Kondyuk, den Eigentümer des Labels Metal Scrap Records zu Wort kommen lassen um ein wenig Licht in unsere diesbezügliche Dunkelheit zu bringen. Doch auch Eugen selbst musste Rede und Antwort stehen, schließlich ist er seinerseits als Musiker aktiv und hat aus nachvollziehbaren wie logischen Gründe seine Truppe PRIPJAT genannt.

 

1) Den Beginn überlassen wir jedoch Alex Pasko, von dem wir natürlich wissen wollten, wie die Geschichte von HELL:ON eigentlich begonnen hat:

Wir haben uns als Band im Jahr 2005 formiert, wobei die Gründung von HELLION, wie wir zuerst geheißen haben, eher eine Art Konsequenz war, da wir untereinander befreundet waren und schon davor eine gemeinsame Vorliebe für Musik teilten. Zudem hatten wir alle bereits davor erste Erfahrungen in Bandprojekten gemacht und wussten was wir wollten. Dennoch war der Start in die “Karriere“ für HELLION sehr imposant, da wir schon nach wenigen Monaten für das größte ukrainische Festival, das “Metal Heads’ Mission“ gebucht wurden und dabei unterem für NAPALM DEATH eröffnen durften. Die Gründung erfolgte durch mich und Schlagzeuger Oleg Talanov, später kam dann der zweite Gitarrist Anton Pavlenko dazu, der jedoch bald wieder abhaute und durch Anton Vorozhtsov ersetzt wurde. Als nächster stieß Bassist Alexandr Sitallo zu uns und zuletzt Sänger Alexander Baev.

2) Und bald darauf dürfte dann euer erstes Demo “Strong Enough“ die Runde gemacht haben.

Korrekt, wobei es sich dabei keineswegs um eine “Resteverwertung“ oder so handelte, sondern wir – nicht zuletzt durch den genannten Auftritt – ungemein motiviert waren und vor Ideen geradezu überschäumten.

3) Dass so ein Auftritt motiviert ist klar, welche anderen Inspirationen für Euch gab es denn noch:

Da wir alle aus unterschiedlichen musikalischen Ecken stammen, gibt es da jede Menge, von Jazz und Blues angefangen, über Rock’n’Roll, den unser Basser in einem Nebenprojekt immer noch auslebt bis hin zu den üblichen Verdächtigen METALLICA, SEPULTURA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, PANTERA, KREATOR oder DEATH. Unser Sänger pflegt darüber hinaus sogar noch eine Vorliebe für das Saxophon und lebt diese auf diversen Nebenbaustellen regelmäßig aus. Für mich persönlich war auf jeden Fall das “Extreme Metalfest“ hier in Kiew die bis dato wichtigste Erfahrung überhaupt, denn nicht nur, dass wir selbst spielen dürften war sensationell, was KREATOR als Headliner hier abgeliefert haben war der helle Wahnsinn! Ein wahrhaftig unvergesslicher Auftritt!

4) Solange er dieses Instrument nicht zu sehr bei HELL:ON unterzubringen versucht, darf er das wohl gerne, auch wenn für Experimente bei Euch durchaus Platz zu sein scheint. In wie fern darf man denn “Age Of Oblivion“ mit den früheren Alben vergleichen?

Da zwischen “Re:Born” und “Age Of Oblivion“ einige Zeit vergangen ist, darf ich wohl durchaus behaupten, dass wir uns an den Instrumenten durch permanentes Üben gut weiterentwickelt haben. Dennoch waren wir bemüht uns nicht zu sehr von der “Old School“-Gangart zu entfernen und waren bestrebt die Songs trotz aller Technik immerzu schnell, aggressiv und kraftvoll zu halten. Zuletzt, also in den Jahren 2010 und 2011 haben wir auch eine Menge an Live-Erfahrung machen können und von daher galt es die Energie der Bühne auf Tonträger zu transferieren. So ganz gelungen ist uns das nicht, aber ich bin sicher beim nächsten Mal wird das noch deutlich besser funktionieren.

5) Klingt interessant, kann Du uns schon ein bisschen mehr über das kommende Album verraten?

Generell sind wir uns schon intern über den Titel und das Artwork einig und auch einige Tracks sind bereits fertig. Diese gehen noch ein wenig mehr in Richtung “Old school“-Death Metal und stellen zumindest bisher die wohl aggressivsten Nummern dar, die wir jemals komponiert haben. Allerdings weiß ich noch nicht, wie es diesbezüglich weitergehen wird, denn unter Druck setzen brauchen wir uns auch nicht.

6) Wie darf man sich das Komponieren bei Euch generell vorstellen?

Wir treffen uns regelmäßig in unserem Proberaum und spielen uns gegenseitig unsere Ideen vor. Daraus entstehen dann oft spontane Jams, die in weiterer Folge zu Songs, oder zumindest Passagen werden. Es kann aber auch sein, dass wir die Riffs quasi “ansparen“ und dieses dann bei Gelegenheit in völlig andere Tracks einbauen als ursprünglich angedacht war. Wichtig ist nur, dass wir alle davon überzeugt sind und der Song als gesamter funktioniert. Die Texte kommen zumeist zum Schluss dazu, auch wenn ich mitunter Themenvorschläge oder sogar schon ungefähre Ideen habe, worum es im jeweiligen Song gehen soll.

7) Du hast zuvor bereits kurz das Thema Live-Aktivitäten angedeutet, was gibt es denn davon noch zu berichten?

Das ist generell ein schwieriges Thema, da wir allesamt unseren Jobs nachzugehen haben und von daher ein wenig eingeschränkt sind. Allerdings führt diese Tatsache auch dazu, dass wir eben ganz gezielt und fokussiert an eventuelle Gigs herangehen. Einmal im Jahr ist es uns dann doch möglich für ungefähr zwei bis drei Wochen am Stück Urlaub zu nehmen und diese werden dementsprechend für Tourneen genutzt. Für die kommende Tour wollen wir auch erneut versuchen außerhalb der Ukraine spielen zu können, denn hier fühlen wir uns doch bereits ein wenig eingeschränkt. Im letzten Jahr konnten wir schon beim “Metalfest“ in Polen spielen und auch beim “Ciechanow Rock Festival“ gab man uns eine Chance, beides phantastische Erfahrungen für uns. Im Herbst des letzten Jahres haben wir dann eine kleine Tournee, die uns nach Polen, Ungarn, Tschechien und die Slowakei, aber auch für drei Gigs nach Deutschland führte, absolvieren können und daran wollen wir auf Grund der positiven Erfahrungen gerne wieder anschließen und speziell in Deutschland viel mehr Konzerte geben.

8) Sind denn diese Pläne schon konkret?

Ja, es muss einfach etwas in dieser Richtung geschehen, damit HELL:ON auch entsprechend bekannt werden können. In Osteuropa konnten wir uns mittlerweile auch schon einen ganz ordentlichen Ruf erspielen, jetzt aber soll auch der Westen von der Band etwas mitbekommen. Von daher planen wir Gigs in Deutschland, Österreich, Dänemark und in den Niederlanden. Fixieren konnten wir zwar noch nichts, aber ich denke, die Planungsphase geht gut voran und wir sind sehr zuversichtlich.

9) Da klingt nicht nur ziemlich euphorisch, sondern auch gut geplant. Eventuelle Nebentätigkeiten sollten kein Problem sein, oder?

Nein, auch wenn wir allesamt auch in anderen Bands und Formationen aktiv sind. So hat Anton beispielswiese sein Death Metal-Nebenprojekt UNGRACE am Laufen und ich selbst bin bei den Groove / Thrashern MORIA tätig. Unser Bassist Alexandr hat wie schon gesagt sein Rock-Outfit SWIFT am Start und unser Sänger lässt immer wieder gerne sein Saxophon ertönen. Der Fokus liegt aber dennoch ausschließlich bei HELL:ON, so dass ein Tournee hier in keiner Weise beeinträchtigt würde.

10) Der Name HELL:ON ist ja nun immerhin zumindest ein klein wenig bekannt, ebenso MORIA. Was aber hat die Metal-Szene in der Ukraine sonst noch an “Schätzen“ anzubieten, die nur darauf warten entdeckt zu werden?

Eine ganze Menge, alleine in unserem Freundeskreis tut sich viel. So gibt es mit DEF/LIGHT, D-HATE, SINFUL, BLACKTHORN und FRAGILE ART eine Bands in unserem unmittelbaren Umkreis, die es verdient hätten ein wenig bekannter zu werden. Darüber hinaus ist obendrein auch noch zu erkennen, dass sich in den letzten Jahren viele junge Musiker mehr dem Metal verschrieben haben.

11) Gutes Stichwort: In wie fern hat sich denn da in den letzten 20 Jahren etwas ändern können?

Seit dem Fall des russischen Regimes hat sich hier wirklich viel verändert. Unter anderem hat sich auch eine Unzahl an Möglichkeiten für Bands aufgetan, die zuvor noch nicht einmal ansatzweise möglich gewesen wären. Die “Szene“ an sich ist zwar immer noch tief im Underground verwurzelt, aber immerhin besteht nun endlich die Chance für kleine Formationen ihre Songs bei Konzerten, wenn auch ganz kleine zu präsentieren. Und auch was das Equipment betrifft, hat sich hier einiges getan, auch wenn der wesentlichste Part immer noch der Musiker selbst geblieben ist.

12) War es denn zu UdSSR-Zeiten überhaupt möglich als Band aufzutreten?

Das schon, ich denke, da waren die Unterscheide zu andere Ländern nicht ganz so krass. Allerdings kann ich mich auch noch gut an das wirklich miese Equipment erinnern, mit dem beispielsweise ich meine ersten Gehversuche unternehmen musste. Doch zumindest erfinderisch hat mich jene Zeit auf jeden Fall gemacht, ich musste für meine Gitarre nämlich die Effektpedale selbst anfertigen und auch keine Vorstufen-Verstärker oder so zur Verfügung und dementsprechend klang die Chose dann auch. Es war zwar unheimlich anstrengend, aber immerhin sehr lehrreich.

13) Nachvollziehbar und auch sehr informativ, da uns Bands wie ihr nicht alle Tage zur Verfügung stehen. Aktuell erweckt es zumindest aber den Anschein, als ob wir von HELL:ON in den nächsten Monaten vermehrt etwas mitbekommen würden.

Das hoffe ich auch! Zuletzt haben wir für „Disaster“ von unserem aktuellen Silberling ein Video gedreht und dieses auch ins Internet gestellt (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDGt2pxEkj8). Und wie schon gesagt sind wir zudem bereits mit Feuereifer am Komponieren von weiteren Songs, deren Ausrichtung wohl noch aggressiver sein wird. Für den Sommer hoffen wir einige Festivals bestreiten zu können und im Herbst sollte dann unsere Europa-Tournee über die Bühne gehen können. Mehr ist dazu leider noch nicht spruchreif, aber ich lassen es euch gerne wissen.

“Stronger Than Ever”

I think the Ukrainian band Hell:On already well known to Polish metalheads. Powerful post thrash of this band carries a sufficient supply of energy, to tear out of the chair every lazy ass. If someone is not familiar with this band, those have a great chance to see for themselves the validity of my words, because band planned a couple of concerts in Poland within the upcoming autumn tour. Well, if you want to learn more about Hell:On, read an interview with band guitarist Anton Vorozhtsov.

Interview was prepared by Alexander (Alias) Okhota
Answered Anton Vorozhtsov (HELL:ON, guitar)

 

Hello! Last year the band released a new album called “Age of Oblivion”. Are you satisfied with the result, and what reviews got your last album?
Hi! The album received a lot of positive reviews from all over the world, including in highly reputable journals. Among other things, the album debuted at number 40 spot in the prestigious chart “Top 49” of the largest European fanzine Legacy, and it’s a pretty good result. Sufficiently important indicator I believe that after its release the number of listeners on our touring routes has increased significantly.

As far as I know, now the band is working on their next album. How it was possible to start recording the next album almost immediately after the release of “Age of Oblivion”?
In fact, we have not started to record, at the time of writing this interview has just finished pre-production album, and by the early accumulation of the material itself will be held for nearly a year since the first release of “Age of Oblivion”. Although, given the fact that the material for the previous album was written during 2009-2011, then yes, the fourth full-length album is done much faster.

As I understand, you have no problems with writing of the new stuff…
As you can see from the previous question – we have changed the approach to writing material for a new album. The principle is that all the songs are written in a fairly short period of time. And if at the back side “Age of Oblivion” you see that the album is logically divided into two parts (side A and side B, a tribute to some sort vinyl), then on our fourth record that does not happen. The form of this album, we originally conceived in the tradition of classic albums thrash metal and death – compared with previous work, he is short and fast and furious. The ideal of this album, I think “Raining Blood”, and it seems to me, “The Hunt” (the working title of the album) turned out quite similar in terms of the perception of the integrity of the material.

In the sound of “Age of Oblivion” was noticeable clear bias towards the “old school” thrash metal sound. Although, in spite of this, thanks to the orchestral arrangements on final track called “Satan”, the sounding of it can be considered as experimental. On the new album you will also continue to move to the “roots” or can we again expect the unexpected?
Yes, we still strongly rooted to the roots, I can even say that the album is a serious bias towards classic death metal. I’ve always been a big fan of Morbid Angel with their grim “sick” atmosphere, and it ultimately failed to bring a touch gloomy not blasphemous insanity to an already not very bright palette of sounds new album. “The Hunt”, will probably be the darkest, heaviest and fastest of all of our albums. But this does not mean that there is no room experiments. However, after some time you hear it yourself 🙂

On the “Age of Oblivion” you had one special guest – Jeff Waters from Annihilator. Enviable party, I must admit. On your next album will also be present celebrity guests? Do you plan to continue this tradition?
Yes, it is expected cooperation has borne fruit, and we will be possible to continue this tradition. For one of the songs of the next album already recorded a solo by Andy La Roque, known to all the parties in their solo albums King Diamond and Death.

Tell me, what do you expect from the cooperation with these musicians? When you invite for cooperation so famous musicians, what purpose are you following? And, importantly, does it make any selfish motive? Aren’t you afraid that some “friendly” metalfans will simply accuse you that you just “show off”?
We will not make a secret of the fact that the main purpose of this kind of cooperation is to attract the attention of the press, potential fans, as well as the expansion of our listeners. But there is, of course, a kind of “intimate” side of this issue – some time ago, it was the top of dreams autographs and take pictures with childhood idol, and now you’re sipping beer with them at the backstage and recorded for their album tracks from their participation. This, I tell you, no doubt cool, though, of course, not an end in itself. As for the “well-wishers” I have nothing against the fact that they use their legal right to have any sort of view, but not sure that any of us cares.

By the way, how much easy to work with such esteemed guests?
These guys are real pro what else to say.

Do you have any algorithm of work, in terms of writing and recording new material? Or with a recording of each next album the approach varies?
Approach, of course, varies a little from album to album. We get some new experiences and further adjust some details of the workflow, but in general everything is pretty trivial – everyone brings some of his ideas, we work together to bring them to the status of finished tracks, then Alexandr (Baev, vocalist) writes the lyrics, and then we record it all, along the way introducing some minor adjustments to the arrangement. Just like everyone 🙂

Was it hard to find your own sound? Or are you still searching?
Everything is in itself turns out, though, of course, we are actively discussing the process. On the new album we are, I think, set free the beast, which was born on the previous record. Now he is old enough to hunt alone (think of it as one of the options decrypt the album title, ha ha). But neither I nor anyone else in Hell:On can not say now how this beast will be in the fifth, sixth, tenth albums.

Your band touches on quite serious problems in lyrics. Is not it hard for you all the time to adhere of a “serious image”? Don’t you ever want to roughhouse, vandalize?
Frankly, never really thought about it. Texts are fully manages by our singer Baev. I think the music itself is pushing him to do, and the concept of “seriousness” has a different meaning for everyone. Although we are in general terms, of course, discuss the concept of our work. A time to be fooled around is in tour.

As for your tours, you have repeatedly toured outside of Ukraine. Do you plan the European tour this year?
Yes, of course, we are almost finishing scheduling a tour, which will take place in October 2013. The main part of the concerts will take place in Germany, as well’ we’ll come in Poland and the Czech Republic, including the visit of the capital of all three countries. I’m sure it will be a nice tour 🙂

If you compare the reaction of the European metal fans, how has it changed since your first overseas tour? Can we say that there is a certain amount of people who are waiting for your next visit?
Sure. From tour to tour, we meet at the concerts the same people, and each time they are becoming more and more, it’s cool. Nice to see quite a lot of people coming to concerts in our T-shirts, purchased during previous tours. Also in Europe, is common enough that some guys go for us in the neighboring town and not much and even the country. Fortunately, in Europe, the distance between them and contribute to this lack of boundaries. We have already seen this, especially in Poland, where we already have a lot of friends.

Since we are talking about foreign tours, tell me more about your last autumn tour of 2012 called “Metal Spirit Resurrection Tour”. How successful it was for the band?
We toured the territory of Germany, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia together with Sinful and Blackthorn. Each tour brings a lot of positive impressions, and this was no exception. Traditional touring “hot” was enough. We were first in Germany, and I want to say that the first attempt did not come out lumpy – we are already there waiting for 🙂 In general, I can call this tour the most successful for the band of all held earlier.

How do you think, how much promising your further performances out of Ukraine?
While the metal scene in the CIS in such poor condition as it is now, this is probably the only possible perspective for the band.

Is it important for members of Hell:On “personal contact”, as in the band, and in everyday life? If we assume that one of the current members for some reason left the band, how will be hard for you to move on further?
“The personal touch” can be called as fundamental in the work and in relationships between members. When things are not going well between people – they are not going well in the band‘s mechanism, each performing its intended function. Changing the band can‘t be painless. Even if in the end everything will be much better, the body will be some time fever.

There are already a few video clips in the archives of Hell:On. Is it too expensive and unprofitable occupation, taking into account the realities of today’s market?
It’s certainly not cheap, especially considering the fact that with each turn in the band’s development inevitably raises the bar in the implementation of absolutely all aspects of its activity. So it is necessary to make video – the question may be moot, but definitely better when the clip is, than when they are not. Even better, when they are good. Our latest video work “Disaster” got quite good 🙂 Also, my work (I am the owner of a recording studio TA Production) allows both my teams don’t spend money on recording albums, why “saved” in this way means you do not apply on other fronts?

Which factor do you consider most important in your own creativity?
Sincerity. This doesn’t compare with anything and nothing fake.

Do you often have to sacrifice something for the sake of your band?
Personally, I don’t really. Without a permanent compromise is not complete, but I have not burdened with a family, and my whole lifestyle contributes almost unimpeded music lessons. I don’t have to wake up at 7 o’clock in the morning, a bullet fly into the office, munching on the go breakfast leftovers, explain boss – why he has give a time for my tours. Honestly, I don’t even know how to get along with it all the rest of the band. All of them are married, and two have recently become fathers, not to mention the whole gimp work.

Ok. Thank you for your answers. That’s were all my questions. What do you want to wish to our readers in end of this interview?
More often tear ass on the Internet, go to concerts of metal bands, buying CDs and merch. And be ready for the new Hell:On album. It will kick your ass, believe me )))))

Hi, thanks for taking the time to do this interview with me for the metal review. To start with, congratulations on your awesome new album. When did you guys start the writing process for the album?
Hi! Thanks a lot! You mean the new album or “Age of Oblivion”? Work over “Age of Oblivion” took several weeks, but the recording process was not so easy. During the recording of the album we had one huge problem – we lost all the material due to of the hard drive failure. So we recorded the album twice. However the material stayed totally unchanged. If you are asking about new the album, so, we already started; we now have a few good songs for future use.

I guess that’s the problem with the digital age of recording accidents do happen and hard drives can malfunction. How did you develop your style? It is apparent that you are all old school thrash fans, what bands inspired you to create such a brutal thrash sound?
We all have different tastes in music, and it is not only metal. It helps us to be creative and brings out a special spirit during the whole writing process. If we are talking about our metal roots and main inspirations then Metallica, Slayer, Sepultura, Pantera. The list is far to longer but those are the “fathers”.

Yes I can hear some of the influences in your music, especially the German thrash influences I can hear a lot of Kreator and Sodom in your music style. I know during the 80?s it was hard to get hold of the material in certain parts of the world, was the Ukraine also affected by this problem?
Yeah, we are big fans of Kreator, by the way, we played with them couple times and it was unbelievable experience and pleasure! In 80?s in Ukraine there was not any metal at all. It was easier to meet a polar bear on a street than find any metal vinyl in a store. Everything was totally underground. People could find metal records only abroad, and bring it into the country, but it was also a problem to get abroad.. So believe me, it was really bad times for metal in Ukraine. Everything depended from USSR policy, and as you might know, it was not a good times for Ukraine.

I know it was hard back in the 80?s until the Berlin wall came down, I met a lot of polish fans that came to Germany. Back in the day there were only a few bands that had made it out of their countries to tour, like Kruiz from Russia or Turbo from Poland. Now there seems to be a lot of bands coming out of the former eastern block, which is awesome as they all seem to have a distinctive original sound.
Yes, today it’s much easier to play metal music in our country, go on tours and release the albums. But all metal industry is underground. Majority think that metal is not a good music for people at all, metal is too aggressive. It’s only for the springs. So it’s still hard to “get on top” even inside of the country. But maybe these circumstances make us stronger and somehow influence our sound and so on.

I can imagine it is hard to book shows in your own country also? What is the metal scene in general like in the Ukraine? Is there a big following of fans that do come out to shows?
Actually we’ve played several big tours over Ukraine, so, of course everything is possible. But it’s on underground level. About the metal scene, we have several really interesting bands, but the music industry just ignores metal music. Our Ukrainian producers are interested only in pop music.
So it is very hard to develop as a metal in Ukraine. But instead of it, we move forward, because, what don’t kill us, makes us stronger.

That is very true, the industry has always tried to ignore metal, and there is no way it will ever go away. Ok so let’s return to the album. The sound is very raw almost like the old school thrash albums but with a fresh kick to it. Was this the sound you were aiming for?
We recorded this album at Tony Alien Production Studio. This is studio of our guitarist Tony. Everything we did in our own studio, excluding drums. So we have enough time to find a good sound and work with all instruments. We used Mesa for guitars and Ampeg for bass. As for me, I would like to make the sound more natural, like old school, yes, you’re right. But our second guitarist, Anton, is a fan of all this modern stuff. In this case we have something between.

Yes I can hear the modern influences clearly, but it is a very interesting mix. So what does HELL:ON have planned for the future?
For the near future we are planning to make a video clip for the one song from the album. And also we want to make several shows in Ukraine till the end of year. Then we will start a makin’ a new album.

Sounds like a busy plan, not many bands actually make videos as a form of promotion these days, although I still think the effort is well worth it in the end. Do you know which song the video will be for yet?
Yes, we try to work systematically, if you know what I’m talking about, moving step by step. And of course we chose a song; it will be first track from the album, called „Disaster”. Pure Dynamik and speed. Like a moving train.

That’s a good choice for the video, due to its natural aggressive sound it really does show the band’s potential.
Yes, I feel the same, very dynamic song, we put it in the beginning of the album, because we would like to make a direction for listeners, create a mood. It is very important to put special song in the beginning, it will determinate spirit of whole album. That’s why we started the album with this song.

Well you certainly started the album off with a bang that’s for sure. How did the idea of having Jeff Waters make a guest appearance on the album come about?
You know, to tell the truth, Ukraine is not a well-known country in Europe; at least it wasn’t before Euro 2012. Lot of people thought, that we are part of Russia or something like that. So, that’s why to try to do our best when we play our music and promote it. We try to say to the world that we are Ukrainians, and we not only have the Klitchko brothers or Andrey Shevchenko. We have good metal bands in our country and lot of other interesting things. So this is background. When we asked Jeff Waters to play with us, we wanted to draw attention to our music. If such a star like Jeff is playing with us, we are worth it to be listened to. And of course it is a big honour for us. This is good motivation for us, to play with such a great musician.

This is a sad fact that you pointed out, ok I have an advantage living in Germany I know a bit more about the Ukraine than just the famous boxers and the football. I really do think that metal music in general has developed a lot since the wall came down and that all the bands over in the former eastern block are now as talented as any other band that did not have the problems faced under Russian rules and being cut off from the music world. Bands like Vader or Behemoth from Poland are prime examples of just how big bands can become.
Yes, you know, Polish example is colossal inspiring factor for us. Our countries very close to each other and we have similar problems in different branches of life. But, we can see that Ukraine moved forward with its development last years and I hope it will move faster and faster year by year. So I’m sure, that Ukraine will show to the world a good metal music very soon. We are working on it.

Well with the latest album you sure are on the right road to proving to the world that the Ukraine does have a place in the metal world that is for sure. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me and I hope we will see each other on the road in the future.
I hope so! Thank you for the question and attention to our music. See you!