Hell was full so they came back! Their return to this world began in February 2009 when Shakey Sue and her guitarist decided to amp up the sophistication of the music they were playing as members of an established surf-psycho band. Sue abandoned her drumsticks and the guitarist grabbed his Gretsch and after teaming up with two other friends who were rocking the punk world, the Hellfreaks were born. In the beginning of 2016 the band finished the recordings of the long awaited 3rd album Astoria, which is the first material of the new-generation Hellfreaks. With this piece they separated themselves from the billy-roots and went straight on to their new way they can call their own now.
A year later they released 2 new video clips.
Burn The Horizon is managed by a really one-off and special teamwork. Steven Shea (American writer and producer) made the videoclip with his professional team and he managed the writing and production also. The unique thing about the video is the location of the shooting, because only the ‘viral video’ was made in Hungary, all the other parts were made in the United States of America.
In 2017 the band also presented their video clip I’m Away. The financial background for it was partly based on fans’ support through an indiegogo campaign, in exchange for which they were provided with such merch and relics as, for example, Shakey Sue’s corset which she was wearing in the video for Boogieman. Check out I’m Away below!
We managed to catch up with the band as they talked about their latest album and more!
So how has your latest album/EP gone so far with fans then?
Our most recent album – Astoria – is definitely the most important album of our 9-year existence. It’s the symbol of our comeback as a band (after we split up for almost a year). It’s the first longplayer of the new generation Hellfreaks, of the new line-up and it’s the first step on the way we call our own now – the way of modern punk rock. It has the punk spirit, but it’s definitely not a typical punk record and for sure it has nothing to do with our old psychobilly sound anymore.
What it means is that it was kind of a brave step on our side and we do get criticism because of that. But that was exactly what we wanted to do: to leave boundaries behind, to leave the surroundings where the word “change” is used as a bad thing. And we are more than happy that we have left our past behind – as we got a small portion of hate from some people, but we got tons of love from our fans and opened the door for many new fans! We appreciate all the support we get so much and we are really excited to take further steps with this new mindset.
Tell us something about the release no one knows?
The European release tour of Astoria had been planned before the recordings even finished, but because of health reasons the recordings took way longer than we had planned, so that the pressed CDs had just arrived 12 hours before we had to start our tour … we were more than a little afraid that we would have to start our release tour without the album in our pocket.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Everyone of us would give a different answer to this question, so I can only talk for myself ( Sue): I would love to work with Marilyn Manson or with Brody Dalle from the Distillers, as I’m more than curious who these people really are behind their masks and of course also because I’m crazy about their music. If I could choose a band, I would choose the Marmozets, because their creativity just blows my mind.
How has your latest single been received?
Our last single is called “I’m Away”, which also has the most successful videoclip of our album, Astoria.
An interesting fact about the video is that the financial background for it was partly based on fans’ support through an indiegogo campaign, in exchange for which they were provided with such merch and relics as, for example, my corset which I was wearing in the video for “Boogieman”, a clip that has already reached five million viewers. Besides venues in Hungary, the team also went to Croatia to shoot some of the scenes there. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guaEK62mxno)
We could only make a video for it, because our fans helped us; that’s why this song has become our little sunshine of the album, because it always reminds us that we have a fanbase all around the world who want to keep us make music. That gives everything a sense.
Can you tell us about the meaning behind the track?
“I’m Away” is just about this feeling, trying to find your own way, which sometimes means leaving your previous life behind. The lyrics were based on personal experience: Now I live in Budapest, however, I grew up in Vienna and I also lived in Berlin for several years before. I moved back to Hungary when we wrote this song. So I know what it’s like when you feel “I want to leave” and “I want to go back home” at the same time. We don’t think it is our duty to tell you what is the right thing to do to feel at home in the world, we are just trying to urge you through the visuals and lyrics to think twice before you make a decision.
What tours do you have coming up, and what can you tell us about them?
Here are our upcoming gigs for this year. All we can say is that you should make sure to come out and join our shows, because the more we are, the bigger the spirit will be that we all bring to life!
01.06 – Romania, Timisoara at Revolution Fest
13.07 – Serbia, Exit Festival
24.07 – Germany, München at Free & Easy Festival
16.08 – Czech Republic, Vyskov at Pod Parou Festival
03.10 – München, Glockenbachwerkstatt
04.10 – Germany, Ludwigsburg at Rocknrollbar
05.10 – Switzerland, Meyrin at Undertown
06.10 – Italy, Treviso at Nasty Boys
01.11 – Germany, Hannover at SubKultur
02.11 – Germany, Erfurt at Ilvers Musikbar
03.11 – Germany, Berlin at Wild At Heart
16.11 – Hungary, Budapest at Robot
What venue are you most looking forward to playing the most, and why?
We’re really the kind of band who love to play everywhere, so we can’t wait to play at all of these stages. But it’s true that there are some that make us especially excited: we feel very honored to have been invited to the EXIT Festival in Serbia, which has just been voted as the best European major festival. As an underground rock band, this makes the little freaks smile very brightly!
We have the same feeling, when we talk about Revolution Festival in Romania, or Pod Paroud Festival in Czech Republic. We love the summertime, and it’s just the best thing when we can unite it with the other thing we love – rocking the stage like hell!
What else can we expect from The Hellfreaks in 2018?
2018 is going to be a very important year for us, as we are finishing our 4th longplayer. Our fans will get something really unexpected, as there’s never been an album we’ve ever worked on so intensively as this time. We also have some very interesting cooperations for this record, but we will talk more about it, when the time has come.