A Heavy Dose of Spiraling Doom with Hell in the Skies

A Heavy Dose of Spiraling Doom with Hell in the Skies

The almighty Hell in the Skies present a spiraling amalgamation of classic rock and pummeling doom that will set the imagination in flight.  Fans of Black Sabbath and Alice in Chains will be over the moon and into the stratosphere when encountering the thrilling reprieves Hell in the Skies has to offer.    II is the name of the latest EP, a visionary work of sonic artistry featuring standout tracks such as Vicious Scorn and Fields of Betrayal.  Highwire Daze caught up with the Hell in the Skies brigades to find out a whole lot more about the amazing band on the rise!  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Hell in the Skies, and how long the band has been together.
Garmr: I´m Garmr, I´m the bass player in Hell in the skies. Solas asked me to join the band shortly after it was founded and since we´ve known each other for a long time, I accepted immediately.

Solas: Hey, this is Solas. I play guitars and founded the band together with Asmoday in 2017.

Baka: My name is Baka. I am the rhythm and lead guitarist of our band. I’ve known the guys for a long time and went to a Hell in the Skies concert in 2018 and was asked afterwards if I would like to take over the second guitar position.

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
Solas: 4 out of 5 come from and live in Eberswalde. Our bassist Garmr always joins us from Magdeburg. Our music scene is very broad, although metal was once more popular and unfortunately has produced fewer offspring over the years. In return, we now hold the flag for the scene even higher and are strongly connected to our few comrades-in-arms in the city.

What was the inspiration behind the new single Vicious Scorn?
Asmoday: Basically, it’s about channeling your past mistakes and the demons you carry within yourself. By doing so, you are able to transform all the negativity into a higher power, now you are like an unstoppable storm sweeping through the land.

The new EP opens with first single Fields of Betrayal. What was the inspiration behind that song?
Asmoday: When the guys were writing the song, images were playing in my head like in a movie, a martial movie. The title reveals that it is about betrayal and vengeance.  There is a lot of room for interpretation in this song

Select any other song from II and what inspired the lyrics.
Asmoday: I have chosen the song “Sad and Done“. It is about the losses we experience in life and their emotional processing.

Who produced II and what was it like working with them?
Solas: Basically, we produced our record entirely ourselves, i.e. wrote the songs and recorded them arranged. In order not to be operationally blind, we wanted to outsource the mixing and mastering. Ulf was our trusted choice.

Baal: The compositions and structures were created by the band themselves and the recordings could be done in our own studio as our guitarist Solas is the owner of CONNEX STUDIO.  The vision of reproducing the sound of our heroes and still keeping up with modern standards was made possible by our highly esteemed Ulf from ULS PRODUCTIONS, who gave us a dynamic that is second to none with his mix and master. Anyone can now use digital enhancements and plug-ins, but they don’t make you sound individual or special, so we relied heavily on analogue technology to make us stand out.

Who did the cover art for II and how much input did you have on it?
Baal: The artwork was created by the artist “VOIDGAZER” and immediately appealed to us as a band, with its mystical darkness and plenty of room for our own interpretation. It reflects our EP in many ways and you are welcome to let our lyrics take you through the world of dark evocation of your own fears and immerse yourself in the image.

What could one expect from a live Hell in the Skies show?
Baka: Our live shows are very dynamic and full of energy. The tempos of our songs are important. We get a lot of power out of that and our swampy sound is justified by it. It’s always difficult to judge how it will come across or sound in front of the stage, but the sound check is very important to us. If everything is right on stage, it transfers to us and every note we play has a lot of passion in it.

Solas: HITS live means above all authenticity. We just let our music and our own personalities roll and the result is usually a very energetic show and still a relaxed feeling with a lot of fun.

Garmr: Pure energy. We will grab you and never let go.

Has Hell in the Skies ever played here in the States or is that something you would like to do in future days?
Garmr: That would be an absolute highlight for us and I think we’ve all had this dream at some point. Maybe someone will invite us, but the most important thing for now is to bring our digital music to the willing audience in the States.

Solas: Playing in the States is definitely a dream that needs to be realized. Playing in other countries in general is of course a plan, but it will probably remain in the EU for the time being.

Baka: We haven’t played in the States yet, but it would be a dream. I have a list of goals that I personally want to achieve with the boys and that’s one of them. Be it a festival or a small dirty underground club. I would be there!

Are you involved with any other bands or projects outside of Hell in the Skies?
Garmr: I think we mainly concentrate on Hell in the Skies, even though we still like to make music with others. HITS is something special and takes up a lot of time for all of us, but we all know what we have this band for.

Baka: Hell in the Skies is my main band! But I don’t just consciously write songs for the band at home. Anything my brain spits out that I feel is worthwhile is kept and not necessarily used for the band. I’m not aiming for another project at the moment, but there is a lot of material available.

Solas: In order not to lose my drumming skills or to stay fit, I still play together with two friends from time to time. Otherwise HITS is my only baby!

Germany is most famous for their BEER! What is your beer of choice and why?
Asmoday: I enjoy trying out our local breweries and we have many good ones in our area. But actually, it doesn’t really matter which beer, it just has to make you drunk.

Garmr: German beer is good, but I prefer to drink beer that is atypical for Germany, like IPA. If I had to choose a German beer, I would probably go for Pilsner.

Solas: I prefer to drink “Helles” and it is particularly important that it is brewed according to the Bavarian brewing style and not “just” the German way. There are definitely several good varieties there, so I didn’t settle on any particular one.

Baka: We have amazingly good beers in our country. I prefer the traditional brewing method without additional substances. That’s why I like wheat beer or “Hefeweizen” or light beer in general. Cheers!!!

What’s up next for Hell in the Skies?
Garmr: Writing new songs and of course lots of gigs.

Solas: next live stop is a nice festival. There, all the hits are thrown around people’s ears again. Otherwise we are currently writing a lot of new songs.

Baka: Same answer as for Garmr

Any final words of wisdom?
Garmr: Don`t fuck yourself!
Baka: Grab a german beer and enjoy our record!
Solas: Peace!

Hell in the Skies is:
Asmoday – Vocals
Solas – Guitar
Baka – Guitar
Garmr – Bass
Baal – Drums

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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