When Denmark’s Helhorse dropped Oh Death on us it was a mighty impressive and mature piece of hardcore driven rock n metal and catchy as Hel(l) to boot. So given the chance to fire a few questions their way, Ave Noctum got down to the important questions with vocalist Mikkel Wad Larsen of death, anger, having fun and why Queen and Elton John are good inspiration and sometimes the only sane choice on a tour bus.
AN: Hi. Thanks for taking some time out to answer a few questions that have been gnawing at me since I heard your fantastic second album. Really appreciate it.
So: Fuck Art Let’s Kill. And interesting philosophy. Care to expand on it?
MWL: It’s something our bassist came up with – it’s basically homage to shutting the fuck up and playing some riffs – just to see what comes out of it.
AN:Actually more seriously, I also notice how often the word ‘fun’ crops up in things you post online. I know it’s a lucky band that can make money from their music these days but what beyond the actual music you write puts that grin on your face? What was the last thing that made you all sit down and say “Shit! That was fun!
MWL: Well, often it’s mostly people that make me laugh. Our drummer has a fantastically dumbass sense of humour. We all enjoy very ironic, black humour – it’s an Anglo / Scandinavia thing. There was a show called “”Danish Dynamite” in the spring – I thought that was hilarious
AN: Listening to Oh Death really makes the listener want to get up and hurl themselves about like a lunatic (which is good of course) but there is the sound of a lot of anger or at least intense frustration on it and Death itself is a constant theme here too and the album is a lot darker than previously. Is there some single point behind this choice of theme, some event or just… how the world made your minds work this time around?
MWL: The reason Oh Death sounds so much darker the last album is because it is darker. The lyrics I wrote on this album are all based on me being in the most despondent, dark and unhappy place I’ve ever been and the struggle for me to get out of this situation. I was trying to end an unhappy relationship, Aske had other shit to deal with – combined it became pretty dark stuff. Therefore Aske came up with the idea that we should make a concept album revolving around death, but death as an inevitable force AND as a means of change. Death to your bad habits, forcing yourself to change for the better. The album is intensely personal and very much from the heart.
AN. There is a real vein of a hardcore/punk type sound in the music. Is this a background of members of Helhorse? Or is it simply influences and if so are there any specific bands you feel inspired by in this area, or are there just favourite bits of listening without them necessarily being an influence? The last time I heard such an effective blend it was the different but equally effective blend of (defunct band) The Georgian Skull.
MWL: You have an excellent set of ears sir. We all have our background in hardcore and or punk, most of us played in metal-core , post hardcore etc. bands and if not that we all listened a lot the various versions of hardcore that’s around. We are 6 very different people, so it can be difficult to agree on bands we all like. However there are certain bands we all respect deeply and listen to.
First of all we have to give a massive shout out to our friends The Psyke Project here. A brilliant, totally underrated band- check them out! But also Converge, Snapcase, Raised Fist and of course my favourite band of all time – Refused. All the bands are maybe not something we talk about every day or have top of mind, but they are all very important parts of Helhorse musical DNA.
AN: Now I didn’t get a lyric sheet with Oh Death but in particular the last song on the album, ‘Scorch The Earth’ seems something that I could draw very real world political parallels to. Is this right and do you consider yourselves a band with a streak of political commentary as well as writing kick-ass riffs and songs (something I used to love about, for example, old Warrior Soul)? Is it just inevitable that news reports get an input into songs?
MWL. Well it’s not wrong at least. We don’t consider Helhorse to be a political band, but we, especially me and Aske who write the lyrics, have a lot of opinions about the state of the world. I’ve never cared for being too concrete or judgemental in my lyrics – the world is full of assholes who think they are better than everybody else and have the right to judge you. I’ve always found it much more interesting to take a more philosophical approach and look at humanity as a whole and questions about how it all works. Scorch The Earth is actually about what I just mentioned – so called “wiser” people who rule us and start wars – the holy wars- to defend their power and ideology.
AN: For a band that could be regarded as part of the stoner/sludge scene you write songs that are short and very sharp which I guess is part of the punk input. It seems unusual, or do you not really see yourself as part of that scene? I notice you have played with a nicely diverse set of bands.
MWL: I think we have a very dogmatic/borderline fascist approach to song writing. We are hell bent on not wasting time, cutting of all excess fat and getting to the point. Helhorse is properly as much at home in the metal scene as in the stoner rock scene – either people like us or the hate us.
AN: The album sounds so live and spontaneous and at times wonderfully reckless I was wondering how the writing process goes to keep that intact: Do you ever write on tour? Or is it something you have to do isolated? Does everyone throw their ideas in or is there more a planned approach? Do Helhorse actually enjoy the studio time?
MWL: I very happy you noticed. We all participate in the song process and we record everything live in the studio that creates a great vibe the spontaneity you’ve noticed. This album was largely written in between shows on our main support tour for Hatesphere and, for the first time ever, we finished up the last track in the studio. These recording were awesome, thanks to a great producer (Emil Buus) and an awesome studio.
AN: I have to admit to being confused (in a good way) by some of the music that has cropped up on your twitter feed recently. Well, the Elton John choice ‘Little Dancer’ confused me anyway. Is this really the range of music you listen to, to keep you sane on tour?
MWL: Heheh – absolutely – being on tour for longer stretches is something that is really cool, but also a true test of your sanity and spirit. None of us can last on an “all metal – all the time” diet. Don’t get me wrong, we all enjoy metal and are love it, but when you put on a song like “Tiny Dancer” a certain calmness spreads out in the tour bus and people start sing along – the scene from “Almost Famous” is not made up, it’s real man. Also Søren (bassist and supreme band bus DJ) has impeccable taste and knows that we all have a guilty pleasure that is the big pop hooks.
AN. What makes for a good Helhorse tour bus mix tape?
MWL: Another good question. It’s a very ritualistic thing. It comes in a certain track list, something like this:
- Thin Lizzy – Cowboy Song
- Ac/DC – Whole Lotta Rosie
- The Burning – Hail The Horde
- Weezer – Good life
- Hellacopters – By The Grace Of God
- Elton John – Tiny Dancer
- Queen – Somebody To Love
- Corrosion Of Conformity – Albatross
- Raging Speedhorn – Scraping the Resin
- The Haunted – No Ghost
This sometimes varies, but at least its songs we all love, its schizophrenic and all over the place – much like the band.
AN: Actually the reasons you stated for looking some of those playlist songs were interesting: Queen’s ‘somebody to Love’ was noted as having the best call/response vocals for example. Interesting as I was very taken with your own use of lead and backing vocals. To us non-musicians, is this kind of appreciation of others skills something you find in all genres of music; the talent and skill to write things like that? Does this mean you get inspiration and encouragement from the whole range of music out there even though what you write is light years away in style?
MWL: We are very inspired by other genres. On this album, Aske, Stephan and I (the three guys singing) looked very much to stuff like 70 classic rock, old blues, but also more pop stuff, like queen, for inspiration for the vocal parts. The fascination can be compared to an architect looking at buildings or a soccer player looking at other players and gets inspired. When you open up your ears to all kinds of music, we learn new tricks and expand the possibilities of what you can do with your own stuff.
AN: Is this musically diverse tour bus going to find itself on tour in the UK any time soon?
MWL: We are experiencing growing interest from the UK, so we have asked our booking agency to look into what’s possible. We would love to play as much as possible and UK would be a great new adventure for the horse. If the interest keeps growing, it will defiantly happen – so spread the word man.
AN: Anything we should remember to bring when we hear Helhorse will be galloping into town? Any last words?
MWL: Yeah- bring money for beer, tickets and merchandise hehe, seriously, just bring as many friends as possible, bring a good mood and come say hi to us, we love meeting new people and we love playing live. We hope to see you soon.
AN: Thanks again for taking some time out and best of luck with the album. It’s a wonderful blend of a tight band and that ‘teetering on the edge of chaos’ sound that the best rocking out bands have.
MWL: Thanks man and thanks for great questions.
AN: My thanks to Mikkel for their good humor, time and some great answers. All that it leaves you to do, dear punters, is to go out and buy Oh Death. Honest: Anything that rattles your brain this much has to be good.
(Interview by Gizmo.)
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