Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Hellevate was formed in 2007 by Danowar. They released a few EPs and the first album in 2012. In 2013, Drew Blood joined, and I joined in late 2013 shortly before we released the EP Kill Confirmed. Shortly after the release of our most recent album we parted ways with our drummer RJ MachineGun, and brought on Chris Wilson from Trogolodyte, but sadly due to medical issues he had to leave.
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
We're a mix of USPM and thrash metal with some extreme metal elements thrown in. Think bands like Heathen or Forbidden, with a bit more of a leaning in on the melodicism of bands like Helstar and Liege Lord. We have a lot of power metal elements, but not in the German sense of big choruses and what-not. We have a ton of influences, but the most important ones would probably be Exodus, Heathen, Overkill, Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, and ManOwaR.
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Because we're high-quality heavy metal for almost any metal fan. We have a bit of everything, so you'll find something to like in our music somewhere. We put a lot of effort into writing great songs and great albums, and we think that's been successful.
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
The major releases have been our two albums, Hellevate and Weapons Against Their Will, as well as the EP Kill Confirmed. The first album received a bit of a mixed reception, especially over time as Hellevate has matured and developed, but there's a lot of great stuff on it, speaking as someone who wasn't in the band and in fact didn't even know them when it came out. Kill Confirmed and Weapons Against Their Will received a great reaction when they came out. I was so happy to see Weapons... get the reception it did, because we all put a lot of effort into it and were very satisfied with it. To this day I'm still proud of what we accomplished.
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Yes, we do. We had to slow down live shows to train up Chris Wilson, and we had to again when he left. We normally play regularly in the region and did a tour for Weapons last year. We're putting things back together and hopefully play a decent amount in 2018 and 2019, both prior to and in support of the release of our third album.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
We're a bunch of fun, cool dudes making the music we love and hold ourselves to a very high standard, both in terms of recording as well as live. We've had a lot of success and a great reception regionally and we seek to expand that however we can.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
Sort out the drummer position, keep rehearsing for our upcoming release and play shows whenever and wherever we can. Expect cool things in 2018 and 2019.
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can learn more about us at hellevate.com and check out our music at Bandcamp!
May 2018