Who knows what Prime Minister Tony Abbott is putting in the water, but the Australian music scene has experienced a substantial growth in global attention in recent years. Bands such as The Amity Affliction, Tonight Alive and Thy Art Is Murder have all enjoyed a swell in popularity. Sydney trio Hellions look set to join that list and prove there’s more to Australia than AC/DC and Parkway Drive…
“We’re stoked with our scene,” says drummer Anthony Caruso. “It’s still growing, too. There’s a lot of up-and-coming bands and I guess it’s much easier for people around the world to listen to music. We’ve personally seen a lot more interest from overseas, so this should be a big year for Australian bands.”
Hellions may be in their formative stages, but the trio – whose line-up is completed by vocalist Dre Faivre and guitarist Matthew Gravolin – have been making music together since their early teens. Their former band, The Bride, called it a day in early 2013 after undergoing a number of personnel changes, so the trio threw themselves into a new project.
Within a few months, Hellions chalked up tours with Deez Nuts, Attila and Every Time I Die and quickly released their first album, Die Young. Yet on reflection, Caruso thinks that they rushed into their debut.
“Our first record kinda feels like a demo to us,” he notes. “We were a new band and we just jumped straight into doing an album. We knew we wanted to make music that appealed to us, and we used that first record to really nail what sound worked for us.”
Their latest album, Indian Summer, however, is an amalgamation of boisterous hardcore, frenetic drumming rounded off with Dre’s bile-filled vocals. It’s also shot through with a sense of the grandiose and ambition that catapulted a certain New Jersey quintet to superstar status. It’s not surprising to hear that My Chemical Romance have informed the band’s sound on their second effort.
“Indian Summer is the first time we’ve been really happy with our musical endeavours and The Black Parade had a big influence on it,” agrees the drummer.
While it remains to be seen whether Hellions will reach the giddy heights of the late, lamented MCR, there are great things on the trio’s horizon as they look set to follow in the footsteps of their fellow countrymen.
“If we’re lucky enough to get to that stage where we’re able to travel constantly to the UK, Europe and America, then that would be a dream come true for us,” says Anthony. “We’re a very passionate band and put our heart and soul into every song. We just love playing music and we’ve been doing this since we were thirteen. It’s been quite a while for us, but that’s what we’ve been working towards the whole time. Playing music to people in other countries is our goal.”
Hellions’ new album Indian Summer is out now through UNFD. For more information, check out their Facebook page.