Hellgreaser are finally in the studio!
After two years of songwriting and several line-up changes, we finally started recording our new album "Hymns of the Dead" at the beginning of October. For the recordings we decided to work together with Mario Dahmen at Liquid Aether Audio. Mario has already done a great job for Chris' black metal band Sumerian Tombs (out on Van Records) and he just proved to us that he can also create a damn fat punk rock sound.
Mario learned from the "German indie rock pope" Guido Lucas at the legendary BluBox Studio (Blackmail, Donots, Muff Potter, Spermbirds etc.) and has been active with his own studio for 20 years. We have developed a common vision with him on how we want to produce the new album.
Our aim is to preserve the live character and a real band sound on the album. That's why we recorded the drums and bass live together over three days. We decided against using triggers and samples for the drums and instead opted for a real, miked drum sound. We also only used real amps and cabinets for the guitar and bass recordings. We also decided against quantizing the tracks. We are a real band, and you should be able to hear that!
We want to stand out from the current rock productions and bring the life and dirt back into the music and still sound huge! The way the recordings sound so far, we will probably achieve this goal!
The 12 new songs contain all the familiar Hellgreaser trademarks, while the band's sound has been expanded with some new elements such as synths and piano. The songwriting was designed for two guitars from the beginning, which gave us a lot more possibilities to shape the songs.
Expect a dark punk rock record with influences from gothic rock and a pinch of metal. The tempo is higher, the songs are heavier but at the same time more melodic, anthemic and darker compared to the last album "Symphonies of Horror".
We will record the remaining vocals at the end of November and everything will be mixed and mastered in December. Of course, we still have two little surprises up our sleeves...
So look forward to "Hymns of the Dead" in mid 2024!