THE HELLACOPTERS - ALIVE AND KICKIN' IN SOUTH AMERICA!

Interview and review by Thiago Pinto Corrêa Sarkis

If they didn't please everyone, at least they were sufficiently competent to open the doors to the mega bands that came after them, Sepultura and Deep Purple, in front of an audience of almost 18,000 people, in another edition of the Kaiser Music Festival in Brazil.

If there were catcalls, with certainty those were extinguished by the applauses, mainly from those that paid special attention to the presentation. And in Belo Horizonte, we must say, they did a miracle. Probably the "mineiros" have never heard a better sound in the giant gym Mineirinho. The acoustics there are simply horrible, and The Hellacopters brought the best sound possible under the conditions. Nobody would imagine that a sound engineer could be so prepared and professional to make 60% of what they played audible in high quality. Before them, the bands that ventured into the gym just heard echo, echo, echo, echo...

The convincing set list showed a band that revives the rock 'n' roll in its roots and proved that there was no better choice than Hellacopters to open a day with Deep Purple as the headliner. They played the successes of the new album like "Carry Me Home" and "By The Grace Of God", and also some 'old' and already known tunes like "Hopeless Case Of A Kid In Denial", "Hey!", "(Gonna Get Some Action) NOW!" "Search And Destroy", "No Song Unheard" and the famous and acclaimed "Toys And Flavors". Their last song was "Search And Destroy" (The Stooges' cover).

To conclude the successful passage of the Swedes through Brazil, Robert Dahlqvist arose to the stage with Deep Purple to play an extended version of "Smoke On The Water" side-to-side with Sepultura's Andreas Kisser and obviously Steve Morse.

After the show we had a short chat with the band and we addressed our questions to Nick Royale, whose real name, Nicke Andersson, you should not find strange. Yes, it is him, former drummer of Entombed, one of the death metal pioneers, with which Nick recorded five EPs and four full-lengths, among them the legendary "Left Hand Path" (1990) and "Wolverine Blues" (1993). Check our interview with the leader of The Hellacopters below:

Thiago Sarkis : - How was playing in Brazil for you, and what would be your analysis on the tour?

NICK ROYALE - I think all of us are scared still. I mean, Brazil seemed like a very distant country for us and suddenly we are here. We didn't know that we had so many fans accompanying us here. We read the messages in our guestbook, on our home page, but we thought that was something around, I don't know, ten people perhaps. Now we are kind of surprised, and obviously very happy. Really happy. Hopefully we will return, therefore we had a great tour over here.

Thiago Sarkis : - About the show in Mineirinho... we always have problems with the sound there. The sound, the organization, what would you say about all this?

NR :- We also didn't like the sound. It was really, really bad. There is a lot of echo. About the organization we don't have anything to complain about. We didn't have problems. It's very good and we had a nice reception.

Thiago Sarkis : - Did you feel any difference between the public of South America the other continents or countries?

NR :- It's always different. I think that here things tend to be a little crazy and warmer. This is very good. But, for instance, we also like to play in Australia, that is a little calmer, however we are able to see that the audience is having good time. I don't know how to describe that, it is different, but they go to the show and they have their own way of enjoying it.

Thiago Sarkis : - What about the bands that played with you?

NR :- Deep Purple and Sepultura...?

Thiago Sarkis : - Yeah.

NR :- Well, I have a particularly strong relationship with Sepultura, since I spent a long time in Entombed. I grew up listening to Sepultura. I remember when I bought "Morbid Visions", at the age of 15. For me it was an honor to accompany the band, that is really great. I think all of us in the Hellacopters like them a lot.

Thiago Sarkis : - Did you see all the shows? And Deep Purple?

NR :- Not all the shows. But the ones I saw were pretty good. I feel that Deep Purple is a bit different, different posture, I don't know

Thiago Sarkis : - Maybe 'cause of Steve Morse?

NR :- I don't really know. That's probably the reason, it must be the reason. He is not Ritchie Blackmore, definitely not. And the guitar sounds different... well, in fact, lots of different things.

Thiago Sarkis : - You came to play only in Brazil, and didn't play in other countries such as Chile and Argentina...

NR :- (Note of the Interviewer: He interrupts me) I know what you were going to say and I know there's a lot of rivalry over here, but don't ask me why we didn't play in other South American countries. I am not responsible for the schedule of the shows. I don't plan the tours. There was something about playing in Argentina, but I don't know what happened. It would be great to play in Chile or Argentina, but it is not my fault, don't blame me.

Thiago Sarkis : - Knowing the metal scene, especially the extreme metal, as you know..

NR :- (Note of the Interviewer. Nick interrupts me again and is very emphatic) As I knew!

Thiago Sarkis : - Ok, as you knew. Did you wait for unpleasant reactions from the audience?

NR :- We had Sepultura, that is true, but at the same time the shows were also full of Deep Purple fans, so I didn't create any expectations. We didn't know what the reaction would be. We came across perhaps five people or more who rioted with our sound. We didn't have any idea, and we were happily surprised with the audience's acceptance and participation.

Thiago Sarkis : - Yes, I must agree with you, but other bands didn't have the same "luck"...

NR :- I know, but I never think about the metal thing. I couldn't do anything if the reaction of the fans were bad. And those attitudes unhappily still happen in the metal scene. I prefer not to think about that. There is nothing I can do in this sense.

Thiago Sarkis : - Why did you break your links with metal after so many years of playing in this style?

NR :- I didn't break up with the metal scene, I didn't leave it. I left Entombed, that is what I did. I played with Entombed for ten years, and I think this is a long period. Of course there were things that didn't please me. We were unceasingly compared with many groups that I don't like...

Thiago Sarkis : - An example...? Maybe groups like Grave?

NR :- No, definitely not. Grave is a good band with good members. I'm strictly saying in a technique sense, and about those nothing bands appearing and they compared us with this. I didn't feel at home. I always considered Entombed in its essence a rock band, but playing death metal. We composed a lot of things in the Chuck Berry way of writing songs. We always had that in mind. I know that out there it may seem strange to have played first in Entombed and later in The Hellacopters, but I grew up listening to Kiss, the Ramones, Sex Pistols, and I played in punk bands before I was in Entombed. For me it is natural.

Thiago Sarkis : - Do you have good memories of your times with Entombed?

NR :- Yes, for sure. It was an excellent phase of my life. I have great memories of that time.

Thiago Sarkis : - Are you still in contact with the members of the band?

NR :- Yeah. The guitarist, Alex Hellid, he directed our last video. He did the "Carry Me Home" video clip, and I also have contact with the other members. By the way, their new album is pretty good.

Thiago Sarkis : - I still haven't had the opportunity of hearing it.

NR :- You should. It's really good.

Thiago Sarkis : - Don't you think that sometimes people may think that you opted for The Hellacopters for reasons beyond the music?

NR :- Which reasons do you want to say?

Thiago Sarkis : - Money maybe...

NR :- (Note of the Interviewer.: Very exalted) Money??? No way man.

Thiago Sarkis : - But, for instance, you have clips on MTV, among other things that you didn't have with Entombed.

NR :- How could I ever have imagined? Tell me, how could I ever imagine that my clips would play on MTV? I didn't think about that. I didn't sell out.

Thiago Sarkis : - I didn't say that. But you know that some people may think in this way and it is kind of an obvious thing, since The Hellacopters's sound is accessible and has a larger field to play... it's easier to listen to and easier to play Hellacopters songs on radio and TV than Entombed...

NR :- But I like the sound. I like the sound of the band and what I do in The Hellacopters. I didn't sell myself thereabout and people have to understand that. When we began with Hellacopters, I grew, but I was considered a fool since I earn more money with Entombed than with The Hellacopters.

Thiago Sarkis : - Really? Nowadays?

NR :- No, now it is not this way. But how could I know where we would arrive? That was not the plan. It was not our plan to come to Brazil or to play on MTV. It is a bonus and we are satisfied with that.

Thiago Sarkis : - Well, and what would you say about the Hellacopters sound?

NR :- Some call it metal, but I don't agree. I believe that it is more a seventies sound. We didn't ratiocinate like this: "we will begin with a rock band in the seventies style", but a lot of good things came from the seventies, others very bad. But we like The Stooges, Kiss, Cheap Trick, Ramones. We really like the sound of that decade and we're developing with it very well. Our first album is very different from this last one. It sounds different. At this time, "By The Grace Of God" is what we want to do. I don't have any idea of how the next album will sound. Perhaps it'll sound like Toto or Yes, I don't know. I don't think so (laughs), but we never know.

Thiago Sarkis : - In your opinion, which are the best Hellacopters songs?

NR :- I think that "(Gonna Get Some Action) NOW!" off our first album is great. Also "Pride" from our last album.

Thiago Sarkis : - The band's discography is very extensive, right? Please, tell us more about those million discs you released...

NR :- (laughs) It's mostly vinyls or singles in very limited editions. There are few copies. We pressed like five hundred or a thousand copies. It is difficult to have access to those discs. That's why we released the compilation called "Cream Of The Crap" that contains many of those things. There is a new "Cream Of The Crap" coming soon. The Volume 2.

Thiago Sarkis : - From the drums of Entombed to the guitars and vocals of The Hellacopters. Was that a sudden change or did it come over time?

NR :- I don't know, I think it just happened that way. I am a drummer. I play drums better than I play guitar. Much better. I think I was trying to do something different and this is the result. If somebody points a gun to my head and tells me that I have to choose, I would choose the drums. Nobody will do that... well, never say never (laughs), but well, my choice would be for the drums. I played drums again with the band The Hydromatics and next year I will play drums in another band.

Thiago Sarkis : - Really? Do you have a name for this band?

NR :- We don't have a name yet. We're going to play soul music, the sixties.

Thiago Sarkis : - Oh, it seems that you really like to vary the styles.

NR :- No, it's not that I change. In fact, I'm not changing. I like music and that's all. Nothing else, nothing more.

Thiago Sarkis : - As a leader of a famous band and not a death metal band, with girls screaming your name as we can see right now, which message would you like to leave to your fans?

NR :- (laughs) Screaming my name here, it's not like that at home. I think that for the fans of The Hellacopters and also for the fans of Entombed, I would like to say that is important not to be limited to a corner. Good music will always be good music, it doesn't matter if it is death metal, blues, disco. It doesn't matter. What is good is good. Don't care so much about styles or things like that.