Interview with legendary black/thrash death metal band from Poland - HELL-BORN.
Translated Duzl, thank you!
Recenze/review - HELL-BORN - Natas Liah (2021):
Ave HELL-BORN! Greetings to the catacombs. I hope you are doing well at this strange time. I listen to your new "Natas Liah" all the time and I feel that every time I listen to it, it gets better and better. How did you feel about going to the studio and tell me something about the recording process.
Well, it was something very raw, organic so to speak. We've somehow went back to when we were starting this whole thing. We felt fresh, powerful, and with no expectations whatsoever. As for the studio - we've chosen a very young, very talented beginners to work with. Their studio is growing and improving as you're reading this. And they fell the stuff you've come to work with. The recording process felt not only very natural and easy, because of our experience. We've realy felt that teenage hunger and passion, you know.
Since 2019 you have a new drummer Diabolizer. Why him? He plays great. Your band has already replaced several drummers during its existence. I think the current one is the sixth. You have quite high consumption of drummers :). How did you get together with Diabolizer?
Well, I saw him drumming for THRONEUM live, and I've allready heard him on record, so when I did, I've immediately got in touch with Les to tell him, I got the drummer for HELL-BORN. End of story. As for the changes - it was somehow happening on it's own. We didn't fuckin' plan to switch drummers every record just for fun, you know, haha!
I like exactly the raw, dark blackened death-thrash metal that you play. I love the sound of your new album! Sharp, moldy, cold, like old graves. Where did you record and how did you feel going to the studio after 13 years? The sound is really as cut from the late eighties!
Well, I've mentioned the story with choosing the studio, right? It's "Creme De La Creme Studio" in Tczew, Poland (the actual home town of Inferno from BEHEMOTH). They've engineered the recordings, and mixed the tracks. The mastering was done by none other than Haldor Grundberg, known for his work on BEHEMOTH stuff. I can honestly say, I didn't expect to get such an awesome sound. That's the way I like the death metal saound. The old way.
I admit that your return to the scene is not only great news for me, but also a confirmation that the old bards can still kick everyone's asses! I wonder how the material for the new album came about? Did you compose all the time or did you prepare everything at the last minute? Did you use any old riffs, for example?
I don't think Les used more than 2-3 old riffs he allready wrote for a different purpose. All the material was written and worked on at rehearsals in the course of a couple of months. I wrote the final bass lines, lyrics and vocal arrangements in just a few weeks. It was fast, intensive and very pleasing.
Why hadn't HELL-BORN been heard for so long? Was it because Baal moved to Prague? But Metal Encyclopedia say that he is back in Poland. How it is about you like a band? What have you been doing since the last album "Darkness" (2008)? Did you play in other bands?
Jesus fuckin' Christ, what??? I didn't move anywhere, I was just born there, and stayed there for not longer than a year as a baby... C'mon! Anyways, no we didn't play in any bands. We've played some music, jamin' just for music's sake. Not metal stuff. And we've never really expected to come back with such a bang...
Who actually did the cover for the new album? The motif reminds me old Norwegian but also Polish black metal bands from the nineties. What should the cover represent?
What it represents is just what you see - our logo in a classy frame, haha. The story behind the album title, and the way it's written on the cover is quite funny. I've allready have planned to use the "NATAS LIAH" phrase. And so later on I find out, that there's allready an album out with that title. Damn, I couldn't let the idea go. So I've decided to use this mirroring we can see now. And yes, it was supposed to look both old, and classy. Lord K. of the repulsive NEKKROFUKK took care of that.
Who is the author texts on the new album "Natas Liah"? Where do you get inspiration for them?
I write the lyrics for HELL-BORN. Always did, and always will. I can't imagine being the voice of the band speaking someone elses words. It is somehow personal in the end of the day. All the inspiration for my lyrics comes from within. That's how it works. It's the externalization of my thougths, beliefs, emotions... These sort of things.
We all know about your role in DAMNATION and BEHEMOTH. But what influenced you in your beginnings as musicians? What was the main trigger for picking up the guitar for the first time? And what was being listened to in Poland then? Please remember for us.
Well, with bands like KAT, DRAGON, KREON, TURBO (one of the favourite bans of Fenriz) we've had a pretty impressive example to follow. We've grown up listening to VENOM, METALLICA, SLAYER, BLACK SABBATH... We've witnessed the rise of death metal, and the phenomenon known as "The Second Wave Of Black Metal", that spawned the infamous "true Norwegian scene". We've been a part of that gigantic trend, that everyone of us wished to see as a cult... We wanted to be just like our idols, you know. We wanted to be just like fuckin' Cronos!
I know that at the moment the situation is not good for concerts, but when this madness with the flu is over, are you planning any events or tours with HELL-BORN? I would like to go to a club somewhere in Prague, get really drunk and mosh-pit. Can we look forward to it?
Well, time will tell. We're pretty busy with our jobs and families to hit the road and tour, but we actually want to do clubs and festivals. No one knows what will happen...
What does death thrash black metal mean to you? I mean now how you perceive it as a person and a musician. You can easily embark on philosophical considerations.
It's the music I felt in love with as a kid, you know. That's it. As we were all introduced to some anti-religious ideas through metal music, our focus in terms of philosophy and personal beliefs navigated towards the other side. The side of the Devil. And we've tasted the apple of Eden just like the First Ones did. We were the spooky, satanic metal kids.
How do you see the development of HELL-BORN in the future? I hope we won't wait for another album for so long! Do you already have any ideas, a vision of how to continue?
I don't know, man. Time will tell. We've already started to work on new songs. Plans are being conceived. I don't think I'll take us onother 10+ years to put something out, haha.
Thank you so much for the interview. I have to go out in a minute. There is frost, snow and ice. I think I'll put your new "Natas Liah" record back in my headphones, because it's great! All the best to your personal lives. HELL-BORN RULES!
Thanx man, I really appreciate it. We've hoped to reach as many people with our muisic, and Odium Records made it possible. Thanx for taking part in promoting our work. 666
Recenze/review - HELL-BORN - Natas Liah (2021):
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