Sunday, January 8, 2017

Australian Thrashers Hellbringer interview done on 1-8-17 by Patrick

Here is  another  interview  this  time  it  is  with  the  Australian  thrashers   Hellbringer   who do  have  elements  of  early  black  metal  mixed  within  the  thrashing  chaos.Hellbringer  is  getting  ready to  release  their  second  cd  "Awakened From The Abyss"  for  all those  into  early  U.S  And  German  thrash  defintly  give  Hellbringer  a   listen  today
Patric
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Interview   with   Josh   drummer   of  Hellbringer   done  by   Patrick



1.Hello  Josh  how  are  things  in  Australia  these days?  Please  introduce yourself  to  the  readers?
Same old shit really. Mundane stuff such as working and all that. Our new album "Awakened from the Abyss" has just come out and our next gig isn't until September so we have taken a short break from rehearsals.

 
2.When  did you  first  discover  metal  music  and  who   were  some  of the  first  bands  you  heard?
I discovered it in high school. I got into though bands like Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest etc.
I actually think my brother Luke who is also in the band had discovered Metallica first and showed me. We both loved it and it went from there!
 
 
3.When  did you  get the  idea  to  start   Hellbringer  and  what  is  the  current  line up  of  the  band?

The idea to start a band came about in high school too. We had a mate at the time who was also into the same kind of music who played guitar. 
We got him in and decided to start jamming. We eventually started writing some material. Straight away we know the sort of thrash we wanted to play. Heavily influenced by bands like Sodom, Slayer, Destruction and so on it went from there!
 
 4. Hellbringer    is  getting  ready  to  release their  second  cd  "Awakened  From  The Abyss"  does  the   whole  band  work  on  writing the  music  or  does  one  member  usually  write  everything?How  long   does   it  usually   take  to  complete   one  song?

Awakened from the Abyss was kind of a joint effort but mainly Luke and James wrote most of the riffs. I came up with a few but I more come up with ideas about structure, beats and that sort of thing.
It's hard to say how long it takes to finish a song really. It totally depends on how many ideas/inspiration we have and how the flow is going.
There's just no particular answer. Some can take weeks, where we leave it unfinished for a while, then come back to it refreshed when we have more ideas. Some can get done within a couple rehearsals.
 
 5.Besides  the   new  release  "Awakened  From  The Abyss"  are  their  any  copies  of the  debut  release  still  available?  Besides  the  cd  releases  does the  band  have  any  other   merchandise   available  to  the readers.And  if  yes   where can  the  readers  buy your  merchandise?
I think you can find some copies of our first album floating around on ebay.
We of course have LPs of Awakened and we have shirts available for sale on our Bandcamp page. www.hellbringer.bandcamp.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
6.Does    Hellbringer    ever  get  to  play  "live"  or  do  you  prefer to  work  in  the  studio
We play live of course. I don't see the point of being in a band if you don't play gigs. The sort of music we play definitely needs to be played live.
In saying that, we also take our studio albums seriously too and make sure that what is represented on that is also done like that live.
 
 
 
 
7.What  have  been  some  of    Hellbringer's   most  memorable  shows  over the  years? Are their   any  upcoming  tours  or  shows the  readers  should  watch  out  for?

Most memorable would probably be Los Angeles on our recent United States tour. Easily the most wild crowd we have ever played to! They are hungry for it which is totally killer! I've never seen a crowd that intense for one of our shows before.
Maryland Deathfest 2016 on the same tour was also great.
Our next show is in December in Sydney to launch Awakened from the Abyss and then in March we head over to Germany to play Hell over Hammaburg fest. We will also be playing some club shows too.
 
 8.Josh  in  your   opinion  what  is the  best  and  worst  thing  about  the  underground  scene  today?  And  what  does  underground  metal   mean  to you?

Best thing would be discovering great bands who keep the old spirit alive properly and do it right.
Worst thing would be too many gimmicks, trends and fashion based idiots. The sort of people who put designing a fancy denim vest or something like that ahead of buying the actual music. We try not to associate with people like this though.
I suppose what underground metal means to me is heart, passion and spirit. As cheesy as it sounds but that's what it's about!
 
 
 
9.Josh  you  handle  the  drums  for the  band  when  did you  become  interested   in  playing  drums?  Are you   self taught  or  did  you  take  lessons   when  first   starting  out?
I had always been interested in drums ever since seeing drum kits in music stores as a kid and things like that. My dad also used to play in a rock band and the drums always used to fascinate me. Seemed like a very exciting instrument to me.
I eventually got my own kit. It was a cheap black kit which I can't remember what brand now.
I'm mainly self taught but have had some lessons in the past too. Definitely helps to see how your technique and things like that are.
 
 
10.Who   are  some  of your   influences  and  favorite  drummers?  Besides  the drums  do  you  play  any  other   instruments?
Clive Burr - incredibly energetic feel and groove
Dave Lombardo - total power and energy. Made thrash drumming what it is today.
Bill Ward - Underrated drummer. Some incredible beats and fills on that early Sabbath stuff.

No other instruments. I dabbled with guitar when I was kid but it didn't quite take off. I'd like to pick it up again though.
 
 
 
11.Hellbringer     comes  out  of the  legendary  Australian   metal  scene   what  is  your   opinion  of the  scene in  Australia  over the  years?
Not a lot to say about it really. We of course have had a lot of great bands from here over the years like you say but these days it's quiet and not liked it used to be.
The good gigs are few and far between with the good bands rarely playing and there are only a small number of cities that are actually worth playing.
The crowd numbers aren't as big as they used to be (before my time but from what I've been told) but if it is a decent lineup people will still show up. Sometimes from all over. So shows can still be good if they are done right.
 
 
 
12.Who   are your  all-time  favorite  Australian  bands  and  are  their   any  new  bands you  feel  the  readers   should  check  out   soon?




My all time favourite is Armoured Angel hands down. Some other greats are Destroyer 666 of course, Slaughter Lord, Mortal Sin (although really only for their first album as cliched as that sounds), Hobbs Angel of Death.
Although not brand new anymore, I would suggest to check out Convent Guilt. Great, catchy heavy metal.
 
 
 
 
 

 
13.Besides  bands   are  their   any  good  fanzines  or  web-zines you  feel  the readers  should  check  out   soon?  What  about  good  and reliable   labels  and  distro's?
 
I'm actually not really up to date with a lot of these lately but off the top of my head Voices from the Darkside is a great one. Some quality interviews on there. Recommended!
Some good reliable distros would be High Roller Records, Invictus Productions and some smaller, newer ones, Muerto En La Cruz (USA) and Rush of Power (NOR). They're new, tape labels but they are run by cool guys with the underground spirit. Releasing some great stuff!
 
14.Other  then  working   with  Hellbringer   do  any  of  the   members   currentl   play   with  any  other  bands?  If  yes   please tell the readers  a   little  about  them?
 
James plays in a band called Tyrannic which is a mixture of a few different things. Sort of like thrash mixed with doom which is an interesting one. Real cult sort of stuff.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15.Thank  you  Josh  for  taking  the  time  to  fill  this  interview   out   do  you   have   any  final   words  for the  readers?
 Thanks for the questions. Our new album Awakened from the Abyss is out now on High Roller Records!
 
 
 
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