Hedra are a Technical Metalband formed in April 2014 they have just finished recording their first E.P. Mind Dimension and are now ready for touring as many places as they can.
Hedra’s influences range from bands such as Will Haven, Meshuggah, Architects, Korn, Tesseract and Slipknot plus many underground styles without plagiarising the fore-mentioned.
The band have produced an eclectic style of fusion and power used in modern day metal music and will not bow down to commercial structures.
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Hedra’s crushing 7 stringed Guitar riffs, 5 String Bass and precision Electrokit drumming have brought together a style that is unbeatable and powerful in their live performances.
The band have intense grooves and at times complicated structures and melody, with over 20 Years musical experiences from members supporting bands such as Strapping Young Lad, Skindred, Raging Speedhorn & Sikth to name a few over their careers, the band stress the importance of diversity & originality in a progressive band such as this, they will also play anywhere they can to deliver a precise & powerful show that leaves people wondering why they’ve never witnessed this before
You can check out The System from the EP Mind Dimension below!
We managed to catch up with the band as they talked about the latest EP, new music, fans and more!
So how has the EP Mind Dimension gone?
Jim – for me it hasn’t been easy, we have been recording it for over a year on home Pc’s , we decided that that wasn’t really working so we took the challenge to book it into a studio over 5 days, that produced better results for me than recording at home over long periods of time, it’s a tough one when you record at home because you don’t even realise how bland things start to sound when it gets too perfect, it was a great experience from doing it at home though, we could record any other band but our own and it’d be amazing because we learnt so much but for our own band it was just wrong, we’re about attitude and integrity and this was not the way for achieving that sound, luckily HVR captured it in a nutshell and we’re really proud of that!
Zoran-it was a bit stressful, but it was fun really, we took it to another level from the home recording that we’d tried before, i’m happy with how it ended up, I think I played my guitar parts really well, i’m in the left speaker as you’d hear it.
Tomas: I use a TD30 KV Electronic Kit by Roland, this makes things fairly easy as far as recording goes, I pretty much nailed all the tracks first take to be honest, it’s in my blood to try to be accurate with drumming, I was in a band previously that took no prisoners as far as being precise was concerned, obviously there were a couple of mistakes in the recording but because it was digital I could just fix it there and then, you can see in the video we just released for ‘The System’ that it was pretty much just putting in the power and and energy that mattered towards getting a great end result, programming was not an option, we tried that, it didn’t work so it was live takes all of it and it was great fun too like being on stage, you only get one chance given the time frame we had!
Kamil: I had a great time recording this, for me it was simple because I wrote all these songs several years ago back at home in poland and brought them all here to the band when I moved here.
I slept a lot after my recordings or with any time I had to get to rest because I work in a Hospital 7 days a week and that really takes its toll when you have to get up at 5.am and then record in a studio or do gigs too, you can see the guys taking the piss out of this in the video for ‘the system’, they aren’t nice to me, I would rather do a band full time but I have to work to pay for living too
Tell us a little bit about the release.
Jim: It’s a concept really about a guy that has had a terrible upbringing by his father, he is well into his drugs and ends up in an asylum due to his over zealous exposure to a corrupt society, we’ve written a story that can be found on https://issuu.com/jimbrettmarten/docs/war_of_mind to give you a better idea of what the whole E.P. is about. The Lyrics are not connected but there is some kind of link but they are not directly associated to the events of this story, it’s really a double thought process.
Zoran-To record it was a long procedure but well worth it to get the concept and meaning across. The art is really nice and and it depicts the meaning jim has mentioned already, it’s about your mental state of mind and the title says it all for me the sound will not let us down either as that came out crazy thanks to HVR Studios in Ipswich they knew what we were after, metal in music!.
Kamil: We will be releasing this as soon after the Christmas period as we can, the Production Warehouse has shut down so sadly we cant get it out sooner, we haven’t got a date yet but the art is very nice, we took a lot of time working it out to look like a nice package.
Tomas: Yeah it was designed by a guy called Gaz Jackson from Sinister Arts, he did it a couple of years ago for us, I wasn’t in the band when it was being made so it’ll be cool to see it all done, I think it’s gonna be in Digipack too which is even better as that is the best format for me.
What is your favourite song from the EP? –
Jim: I don’t have a favourite, they all have an intention, some lyrics are more obvious than I make out, the playing on these is superb and I had nothing to do with that being the vocalist, they should be proud of what they’ve done as it’s nothing like anything i’ve ever heard, that in itself these days is an accomplishment.
Zoran -I love all of them but if you would point a gun at my head and make me choose I would pick Lost I am hate because it has simplicity and attitude that I personally look for in music, although we’re a technical band sometimes it’s nice to let things just roll which this one does for me.
Kamil: All of them are a proud moment for me because I wrote them all, Jim wrote the lyrics and Tomas changed the original drum patterns but the basics were from me, collectively I couldn’t have wanted any more from what came out with this E.P. though
Tomas: I like all of them but yes Lost I am Hate and war Child stand out for me, I actually disliked War Child at first but once it was recorded I felt this was the stronger one, funny ho things can turn out in the end isn’t it?
Scott: For me it was ‘Mind Dimension’ because that’s a really hard song to learn on the Bass, i’m a new member to the band so i’ve had a few weeks to learn the set, but that’s the one for me to mosh to!
Will there be a full album released next year?
Jim: I’d like to think that an Album would be out next Year, we had an offer from a Label that asked us to have a Full Album ready in 6 months but we’re not ready to rush for anyone, if we can do it then fine but we’re not really too fussed about money it’s more important to spend time to get things right and to everyones satisfaction in the band than a 3 Album deal 🙂
Zoran: Hopefully, we’re working on stuff all the time , we’re aiming to get something out in 2017 but it’s quite hard for us to be different, we don’t want the same thing to happen twice so my influence will make it very new for all of us as these songs were only the beginning of the band and I have lots to give in terms of new styles, we’ll see if we can put it together in a year but it’ a strugglee in this band to try to be different other than accept the first thing that comes along riff wise!
Are you guys going on tour at all next year?
Kamil: We’re writing the Album now, it’s not me this time it’s all of us, i’ve had to step back a bit and let Zoran influences come out and show some front with regards to writing, we’re a few songs in now, Jim also wrote one that were transposing into our tuning called ‘are you with me’ that’s gonna be a good one!
Tomas: I hope it comes together quickly, I get frustrated at the time it takes as I just want to lay it down with the drums, sometimes it’s a long process for us just to get the riffs as we don’t want to sound so much like anyone else, it’s important for us to be unique, lots of bands now are using the same presets and kemper guitar sounds and because I use a digital kit i’ve developed something that no-one else can copy in my sound so we are like that opposite where the guitars are trying to go digital i’m something that many drummers don’t dare to try!
Tour Plans
Jim: We have a Tour pencilled in for May Next year with ‘Within the Nova’ a great band from Romania and ‘Synaptik’ an awesome band from our Home town of Norwich, it’ll be from the 12th of May for 10 Days, we’re struggling to find the venues at the moment but it’ll make an awesome Tour if we can pull it off, it’s all down to the UK to accept us really!
Zoran- We will, all depends on the May tour but also we’ll play anywhere, we’ve not turned down any small venue yet (other than when i’ve had to go home), we’re very flexible, no ego so anywhere on the bill and any town suits us greatly!
Kamil: I love to tour, we’ve done quite a few gigs now and I love to stay and see the bands that can influence me in some way, we leave the gig arrangements to Jim but i’m trying to get involved a bit more!
If you could work with any band on a new song who would it be and why?
Jim would like to work with Phil Anselmo, you know the guy has had some hard shit thrown his way but you can’t deny he’s hardcore, he’s got the voice so many still copy now, his lyrics are intentional and direct too, he’s probably the last of the meaningful spirit in a world full of social judgements, I agree with him on that the world is now full of Judgemental Facebook people
Zoran- I’d work with everyone and anyone. I like challenges, I have an open mind, it’s important to take in all influences and accept all friends willing to help us in the UK.
Scott: For me i’d love to work with Gojira as I like their style and they are original, a little like this band in some way, not plagiarising to any sound and that I think is why they are so popular.
How much does your fans mean to you guys?
Jim: firstly I hate the word ‘fan’ it’s an instant disconnection to ‘people’ people are everything to me, if you don’t have people looking after you as a band then you don’t have friends, these people are not my ‘fans’ they are my friends ‘fans’ just makes me feel sick personally, its like saying groupie in this day and age, even they are my friend lol!
Zoran – The people who like us mean the world for me. Their support helps us to get through difficult times and there are so many for me personally.
Kamil: There are people that watch me and appreciate what they are hearing, I get a feeling in me that makes my voice go higher like a child, you can see me at a gig I behave like a child I get so excited, everyone is my best friend in that moment you know!
What been your proudest moment to date?
Jim: In this band my proudest moment would be going in the studio and finishing what we’d started, when we get the cd in our hands in a couple of weeks that will be my proudest moment. If you mean other bands, yeah i’ve been astonished to play at the Astoria in London as a headliner looking up at a balcony of people from music i’d written from scratch, that’s why I keep going anyway because I saw what’s possible, we’ve not done it in this band yet but i’m over confident that this band is better than that band was you know!
Zoran- The Norwich gig we have just played with Devilment. For me that was the top of my career, i’m used to playing small venues back home in Hungary, perhaps maybe what we’ve experienced here hasn’t been so good either but to support the legend that is Danni Filth in his side project band was great to me because I did not think this would happen to me so soon from being in the UK.
Scott: My Proudest moment would be joining these guys to show them what I can do to further their musical career after their biggest show to date.