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We’re super-excited to be speaking today with acclaimed UK metallers HELLDOWN; greetings and salutations gang and welcome to Vents Magazine! Before we dive into the Q&A mosh-pit, could you each say ‘hi’ and introduce yourselves to our ever-inquisitive readers?
Hello, I’m Matt, the rhythm guitarist of Helldown.
Hi, I’m Ben, the vocalist and bassist of Helldown.
Hi, I’m Lewis, the lead guitarist of Helldown.
Hello, I’m Ross, the drummer of Helldown.
2.) Major kudos and accolades on the freshly-minted single War Is All which is set to be released this coming May 17! Ben, can you talk about what inspired this rousing anthem?
Well, it was initially Matthew’s idea, the basic premise of the song was going to be a straight up account of war, but as we worked through the song it morphed into more the aftereffects, and how it can become all-consuming and devastating to the soldiers left behind. I think we really captured the struggles soldiers must go through in the video; Nathan Roach from Coal Poet Media did an incredible job.
3.) Matthew, who was the producer on War Is All and what was the collaboration like between band and producer while in the studio working on the new tune?
The collaboration was brilliant, between Sam Kilby and Tom Williams at Unit 13 Music Studios. Who are both like-minded metal heads just throwing ideas around and enjoying the vibe the songs gave. It was not a chore at all!
4.) Ross, in your humble opinion what differentiates War Is All from the Distinguished Competition on the 2024 music landscape?
War is All is simply a piece of fine art in my opinion, from the track itself all the way to the beautifully crafted music video accompanying it, and I honestly feel there are not many bands putting in as much work as we have done for War is All, and it’s a track we are all very proud to show to the world.
5.) Lewis, in the wake of the May 17 release of War Is All, what does the remainder of the year hold in store for HELLDOWN, musically-speaking? Might we see a possible EP or LP release from the band before the end of ‘24?
This is a busy year for us in terms of releases.
War Is All will be our second single release (with accompanying video!) this year, of three planned. As well at this, we have two other recorded tracks to release. All these aforementioned tracks may appear in compilation form at some point this year! We are busy writing for a tentative LP release, but it looks like this would be aimed for ’25.
6.) A question for all of you: Who inspires you musically?
Ross – It all started when I was younger as my parents were great influencers by blasting out what are now my favourite bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, Motorhead, Motley Crue and many more! When starting Helldown with Ben and Matt many many years ago, we all grew and started listening to heavier music and as we did the band grew with it and now our current influences are shining through such as Lamb of God, Arch Enemy and Machine Head.
Matt – it can depend on my mood, but all comes back around favourite bands and artists like Metallica, Machine Head, Lamb of God, Slayer some Trivium recently. I’ve also been getting into Malevolence and Slaughter to Prevail as well, so who knows, maybe I’ll be throwing in some inspiration from them soon!
Lewis – I’m the odd one out here, while I like the heavier stuff, I tend to play with much more of a light touch! I also love prog in general; my all-time favourite band is Rush. When it comes to guitar playing, I take from melodic and bluesy influences much more strongly, I feel my personal playing style is probably most comparable to Gary Moore if anyone.
Ben – There are so many to choose from, but my main inspirations as a frontman are Robb Flynn of Machine Head, Tony Foresta of Municipal Waste & Matt Heafy from Trivium. As for bass players definitely Adam Duce from Machine Head, Tom Araya from Slayer & Paulo Xisto Jr from Sepultura.
7.) Ben, what does the touring/performing dance card look like for HELLDOWN in the coming weeks and months?
We’re playing as much as we can, anywhere we can! We want to get our music out there not just on streaming platforms, but in person. The whole point of being in a band is playing in front of people, and we love doing it!
8.) Matthew, HELLDOWN hails from Swansea, Wales. How do those particular stomping grounds inform the sound and energy of the band?
Thats quite hard to answer to be honest, over the years the metal scene here and fluctuated hugely, but recently there seems to be a rise again for metal bands, which is very good to see!
9.) Ross, how is War Is All similar to some of the past music from HELLDOWN such as 2017’s The Watchers? How is it different?
The Watchers is a prime example of our earlier influences in the band, and War is All is a great example of how we have evolved. They have subtle similarities, but I feel they are completely different in many ways, and most importantly it demonstrates how we have improved and where we come from.
10.) Lewis, what does the creative process generally tend to look like when HELLDOWN assembles to work on new material?
Is there rhyme and reason to the creative chaos, or is it a bit more freeform than all of that? It tends to be more freeform, a culmination of all our ideas thrown into a single melting pot. We all try to get a feel for ‘where the song should go’ and aim to write in a way that serves the song as a whole.
11.) Ben, any final thoughts you might like to share with fans and readers about HELLDOWN’s upcoming May 17 single War Is All?
We’re playing as much as we can anywhere we can! We want to get our music out there not just on streaming platforms, but in person. The whole point of being in a band is playing in front of people, and we love doing it!
https://linktr.ee/HelldownOfficial
https://www.facebook.com/HelldownOfficial/
https://www.instagram.com/helldownofficial/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/36W9exJZJQFHPyDswrv5G3
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC44JoSMLuIzZzJZtO8UdmPA/
