HELGRIND
hail from the Cuban capital of Havana and are one of the island's
most notable metal acts flying the banner for heavy music, as their
own interpretation of Black/Pagan Metal is nothing short of
interesting and worth investigating.
Greetings!
For those unfamiliar with your band (and I assume there's quite a
few), can you please give us a background on HELGRIND and tell us
what you've released so far?
HELGRIND
is a Pagan Metal band founded in Havana in 2012, which have released
two albums and one EP till the present day. The band was founded by
the guitar player Jordy Fuentes and the bass player Daniel López.
The vocalist Ernesto Riol joined the band a few months later during
its foundation. HELGRIND is the only pagan metal band nowadays in
Cuba and its former members are: Ernesto Riol (Vocalist), Jordy
Fuentes (Guitarist), Daniel López (Bass Player and backing vocals),
Ramsés Limonte (Guitarist) and Carlos Cepero (Drums and backing
vocals).
You
call your music Black/Pagan Metal, right? Can you please describe
your music style and influences?
Cataloging
the metal is a difficult task due to the many sounds and themes that
exist today. It becomes so difficult at times that top bands have
"mutated" so to speak throughout their careers going
through 2 and even 3 different sub-genres and most likely they have
not even been aware of it. Some prefer not to complicate themselves
and group everything under the same name, but we are of those who
call things by their correct name. Our way of seeing Pagan Metal is
defined by 2 important points that are the neo-pagan or pre-Christian
pagan theme coming not only from Scandinavia but from any region of
our planet and the absence of folk instruments in the compositions
since using them would make incursions in folk metal. Our first
compositions had a strong influence of melodic Death Metal with a
slight presence of European folk music in the riffs and choral
arrangements, but aspects such as musical maturity, collective and
individual experience and the contributions of the musicians who have
passed through the lineup gave a turn at the helm. The melodic was
displacing the rhythmic and the presence of Folk melodies gained more
prominence on an increasingly rapid base of blast beats and cold and
melancholic harmonies. Right under this banner is that our music
flowed progressively and gradually, without forcing it, it followed
its course and we all felt very comfortable and proud. We are
influenced and admired by greats like Bathory, Falkenbach, Enslaved,
Folkheart, Amorphis, Skyforger, Primordial, Graveland, Moonsorrow,
Forefather, Windir, Thyrfing and many other great bands.
Your
lyrics are based on Viking/Norse mythology. Can you tell us a little
more about your themes and what aspects they focus on?
It
is an excellent opportunity to clarify that our lyrics are not
exclusively about Norse or Viking mythology. The cultural background
of European peoples is so rich and broad that focusing on just one
was never an option. We are fascinated by literature, history,
legends, fantasy from the European continent. Who delves a little
into our sources of inspiration will find historical battles such as
the one fought by the Cheruscan prince Hermann against the Roman
legions in the forests of Teoteburg, from the Finnish epic poem
Kalevala the myth of the hero Vainamoinen, and from Slavic mythology
the popular legend of the Rusalka, spirit or aquatic ghost in the
shape of a woman that drowns unsuspecting travelers... just to give
examples. We feel identified because in addition to being Cubans we
are also Euro-descendants and we are united by strong cultural ties
to these themes. Our ancestral heritage demands that this legacy does
not die with us and is told to everyone who wants to hear it.
How
has the response to your music been so far? Does it make you happy
when you find out that someone from another country enjoys what you
do?
The
response to our music within Cuba and outside of it has been
excellent so far and frankly we have no complaints. In the national
arena Helgrind has been invited to participate in several of the best
national festivals with good acceptance, we have the support and
recognition of experts and bands of extensive experience and our live
performances attract a growing public. It is true that there are
aspects that still need to be improved, but in general we rate it as
very positive. Regarding the international response, there is a
curious factor that is always present: almost no one has heard about
the small but talented Cuban metal scene and it is because for
tourist reasons the image that has been projected from our island to
the world is that of a sunny paradise full of palm trees, mulatas and
rumba. Unfavorable? Many times yes, but it is in our favor that no
one imagines there is a Cuban Black Pagan Metal band, so curiosity is
guaranteed.
You
are from Cuba, and as most of us know, there are restrictions on art
there. Can you please give our readers a little insight into the life
of a headbanger in Cuba? Are there any metal clubs/shows to go there?
Art
restriction is very common in Cuba; it is something that artists have
to deal with everyday. In the case of metal music: it is very
complicated first because there are not many places to go or to play.
Here in the capital we have a concert hall named Maxim Rock which is
the core of the "Cuban Rock Agency" that only exist here in
Cuba of course hahaha it is a place which mainly all weekends metal
people could go there to see the bands playing and drink something,
there were other places years ago of course that belongs to the
government, and we can say that there are also places that by means
of ourselves l we could rent for concerts and gatherings, but there
are not any specialized clubs for metal, clothes stores, not music
instrument stores, nothing. And another point to finish with it's
that sometimes we must be careful with the lyrics and the attitudes
we can have and that can be a risk in terms of freedom of expression
when talking or acting.
A
lot of people out there, especially metalheads, seem to be under the
impression that communism is one big happy utopia. Can you comment on
that?
Helgrind
is an apolitical band. Politics only brings fragmentation and
disunity between peoples and reminds them that the civilizations that
are the authors of these ideas have collapsed precipitously, taking
out the lowest and most perverse of human morality. Whoever sees a
little beyond their noses will notice that it is a plot hatched to
divide, weaken and keep us pitted against each other while a
plutocracy and an invasive religion imposed and perpetuated by
centuries of iron and parasitic blood in power increasing their
weight every day. coffers with the resources of our planet. Politics
is the blindfold that keeps us from seeing the real enemy.
Do
you consider playing music as a kind of escape from everyday
bullshit?
Of
course playing music it's a way to get outside of our reality, it's a
way to escape our daily life and our daily routine in this country.
When we play music we are being free and we are sharing our freedom
with people. We are relaxing from the stress of a whole week of work
and from any professional or personal problem. We share our feelings
with the audition and at the same time the audition is shared with
us. That's the reason why this last time of the virus has really
affected us a lot being without playing for more than a year and a
half. Music will always break chains, will always set us free, that's
the only reason we will always fight to protect metal and our kind.
Can
you please tell us about any side-projects or bands the members are
in that we should check out?
In
Helgrind all members have different projects and at the same time
some of them also share the same ones. Ernesto and Jordy have a
common project called: We Bite!!! which is a horror punk band in
which Jordy plays all the instruments and Ernesto sings. I write all
the lyrics. Jordy is also the session player of drums in the thrash
metal band Infector. Ramsés is the guitar player of the death metal
band Congregation and Carlitos and Daniel have Folklorica – a folk
death doom band, and of course we can also say that all Helgrind's
members have contributed to many bands' music during its creation
time such as: Dark Naberus, Saloma, Aventis, From The Graves, etc.
What
are some of your favourite subgenres in metal and what styles do you
dislike? Do you consider yourselves open to different genres, even
outside of metal? I ask because I get the impression that people in
Cuba are more appreciative of art than most people from sheltered
first-world countries.
In
general, we listen to extreme metal, whatever it is death metal,
black metal, pagan metal, thrash metal, but also heavy metal and even
power metal. In addition, many of us like Punk and hardcore as well.
We listen to other genres out of metal music and rock music such as:
folk, maybe some old pop but not any dance music style except for our
drummer that likes Timba music maybe for the rhythm in the drums
hahaha.
What
have you been listening to lately?
We
we have been following some bands mostly of pagan and black metal
bands such as: Havukkrunu , Emyn Muil, Keys of Orthanc, Marras, Iron
Woods, Land of Fog, Mirkgrav, Beleriand, Burden of Ymir, Odal and many
ones. Also some horror punk bands due to the evolvement we recently
have the style, we listen to some good bands: Dragnum, Grave Robber,
Left Hand Black, Bliztkid, etc.
Can
you tell us a little about some of the labels you have worked with so
far? Have you received your share of merchandise from the labels?
Have you ever traded with people or ordered stuff from foreign
labels?
Until this moment we have only signed with the British label Black Spark
Records and they have sent 25 CDs as a payment of their release of
our album: Return To Motherland unfortunately due to the virus
situation and the mail service in Cuba they have no arrive, another
point is that our contract with BSR does not take into consideration
merchandising as a payment for that reason we don't have our own
merchandising and we can't trade anything we try to make our own
merchandising with some friends out there in Mexico and United States
of America but for now it has been very very difficult for Cuban fans
there's nothing and that makes us very sad we will see what we can do
in the future maybe with a release with a bigger label can help to
trade cds and merchandise and with other ones, there are labels that
have been interested in Helgrind but for now the future is unknown.
What
are 10 albums you can’t live without?
Amorphis
- Tales from The Thousand Lakes, Bathory - Blood on Ice, Misfits -
Famous Monsters, Falkenbach - Heralding The Fire Blade, Kalmah -
Swamplord, Satanic Warmaster - Carelian Satanist Madness, Dissection
- Storm Of The Light's Bane, Beherit - Drowning Down The Moon,
Destruction - Infernal Overkill and Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom
Sathanas.
To
wrap things up, if anyone out there is interested in getting some of
your merch or contacting the band for interviews, how should they do
it? Also, I wish you guys all the best and hope that you will get
more recognition for your excellent music. Thanks for your time!
Thanks
a lot for this wonderful interview and for your time. It is really
important to us when people take into consideration a Cuban band for
an interview or a review we really appreciate it. For now people can
find our merchandising and CDs in the Black Spark Records store and
of course in our Bandcamp and can follow us on Facebook as Helgrind
Pagan Metal, on YouTube as HelgrindCuba. Thanks again and hails from
Cuba!
