Blackened speed metallers HELLBRINGER from Australia are hosted in the pages of Rock Overdose, to talk about their debut album, Dominion of Darkness, coming out in a few days! The production of the album was undertaken by legendary Harris Johns (Helloween, Kreator, Coroner, Sodom, etc.) who traveled all the way there from Germany to record them! The artwork was made by the also known from Greek old-school thrash metal bands Andrei Bouzikov. Read what Josh Bennett told us, the drummer of the band.
Rockoverdose.gr: Hello guys, welcome to Rock Overdose! To start off, would you like to tell us a few things about Hellbringer, for our readers to get to know you better? What made you get to play together?
Josh: Hi and thanks. We started the band back in college. Me, my brother and our old guitarist all loved the same good Heavy Metal so we decided to start a band playing the stuff we love. Plus we were sick of bands who played shit Metal. We started jamming to covers by bands like Venom, Slayer, Sodom etc and then decided to start writing originals. That's pretty much how it started.
Rockoverdose.gr: Your debut Dominion of Darkness is out on September 28, early reviews make us look forward to it with great expectations...!
Josh: Reviews have been great so far from what I have seen!
Rockoverdose.gr: How was it composing the new songs?
Josh: Some of the tracks on the album were written when our old guitarist was still in the band but he left while we were still writing. It was frustrating as hell writing with the old guy because he was losing interest in the band and was totally killing the vibe and energy at rehearsals. Plus he couldn't write anything at all. So then because he left, the writing was put on hold for a while we searched for a new guitarist. Once we found James, our new guitarist it was much better because he was interested and had the ability to also write riffs.
Rockoverdose.gr: There are also some great collaborations in it. Is it true that legendary Harris Johns traveled all the way to Australia to record you and do the mixing for the album?
Josh: Yeah. We got an arts grant from the government and flew Harris over to do our album. Was definitely an experience. There were some disagreements at times but I think we got a great end result.
Rockoverdose.gr: He sure gave an old-school feeling which really fits you. At a time when most of the modern bands play metalcore more or less, what made you choose thrash metal/ blackened speed to build your career on?
No particular reason really. It's just what we got into and love to play. We have always loved that black/evil side to Thrash metal. Total power and aggression.
Rockoverdose.gr: What's the metal scene in Australia nowadays?
Josh: There are some killer bands here who don't play very often which makes good shows here very limited. But the bands who do play often usually suck and we have no interest in those sorts of gigs. The scene here can be good when there is a good lineup on a show but they're usually few and far between.
Rockoverdose.gr: You also worked with Andrei Bouzikov for the artwork. Was it your idea the cover?
Josh: We came up with a basic idea for the artwork. We said we wanted something dark and evil with not a lot of colour pretty much and Andrei went on from there adding in his own ideas and such. He showed us previews and we said what we'd like changed and so forth.
Rockoverdose.gr: Is there any official video clip in the works?
Josh: No. I think if we did one we would just end up thinking it sucks (*laughs*).
Rockoverdose.gr: You've opened for Toxic Holocaust, Forbidden, Mortal Sin and the list goes on. Is there a gig that comes to your mind first and why?
Josh: We didn't end up supporting Forbidden because our old guitarist left the band then. We played a killer Thrash gig a couple years ago in a pub which is probably one of the most memorable. There were maniacs everywhere! I'm pretty sure some guy was arrested that night for some reason too.
Rockoverdose.gr: I see! Last European tour was canceled, will we get to see you live in the near future? Planning to play in all those renowned European festivals?
Josh: Well it wasn't really a tour. It was a couple festivals and a few club shows. We're hoping we can come over and play Europe sometime in the near future.
Rockoverdose.gr: Wish you the best guys, hope to see you live soon if possible! If there is anything you would like to add, go ahead!
Josh: Thanks. Dominion of Darkness out September 28th. Beware!!
For Rockoverdose.gr: Stella Tsolakou
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