An Interview with HELLYSH (Part 1 of 2)

With their fourth album, “Heksenkässel,” the East Frisian trio Hellysh serves up old-school Scandinavian death metal. Philipp, Lenny, and JM talk about their good connections abroad, strange tropical fruits, and the weather way up in the northwest.

Strange?

The first thing that catches your eye, of course, is the unusual spelling of “Heksenkässel.” Band leader Philipp explains: “We just wanted it to be something special. For one thing, there’s a song by Vader called ‘Hexenkessel,’ and we’ve had a long-standing relationship with that Polish death metal powerhouse. Plus, all three of us love traveling to Scandinavian countries and have death-metal connections in that region as well. It just looks more interesting this way.”

Angry Oranges

In terms of content, however, the album is less about women flying around on broomsticks and more about the alarming state of our planet and its inhabitants. There are even political undertones to be heard. Lenny nods. “It was important to us to capture the societal coarsening, the politically erratic, angry ‘oranges,’ the misconduct of many during the pandemic, and other absurdities of everyday life. Sometimes life itself provides the harshest real-life satire—far harsher than any virgins slashed open on a sacrificial altar.” How true.

Marc Halupczok

Lineup:
Philipp Wilken – vocals, guitar, bass
Lenny Wilken – bass
JM – drums

Listen to the album on Spotify: