If you thought the Hard Rock revival was all about Scandinavia then think again. Further south in Italy Hell in The Club have been producing great music for just over a decade and latest EP Kamikaze 10 Years in the Slums marks that anniversary even if Covid has delayed them by a year. We caught up with Andy the band’s founder to find out all about the new EP and future plans for the band.
Mark: Hey Andy!
Andy: Hey, Hi Mark.
Mark: How are things with you?
Andy: Good, very good.
Mark: That’s great to hear, we’re loving the new EP down here ‘Kamikaze 10 Years in the Slums’ has something for everyone. I’m guessing that it was due out last year but like so many releases was delayed?
Andy: Yeah, it’s shit!
Mark: It’s great to have the EP and we will get to that in a moment but we have to ask are you writing for the next album already?
Andy: Yeah, we are almost ready. We have some new songs and after the Summer we will be recording the new album. In the pandemic we used the time to write new songs.
Mark: You’ve released five albums over the last ten years which is great output for any band, but you also have other projects on the go as well plus you are touring and producing videos. How do you balance it all? How do you find time to fit it all in?
Andy: Well we all play in other bands, we love Rock and Metal and we love to express our creativity in these musical styles, you know. It’s not easy, but over time we have learnt to organise ourselves and have managed to do everything. So it’s only a matter of being organised you know. But it’s not easy!
Mark: The pandemic has been hard for everyone. How tough has it been in your part of the world? We watched early on as Italy seemed to suffer particularly hard.
Andy: Yes it was a very difficult time for everyone. No concerts, no money, no contact between people, no people in the Clubs. Many Clubs are closed here now in Italy, I don’t know about the rest of the world but I hope it’s not the same. But I hope now there is a strong desire to start again in a big way. And I want to get back on stage very soon, I miss the stage (laughs).
Mark: So things are looking better now?
Andy: Here in Italy now things are getting back to normal this year.
Mark: And you’re all ready to get back out there?
Andy: Here in Italy there are so many bands that play Rock and Metal and music in general and we are all ready and waiting to come back on the road.
Mark: That’s very good to hear. The new EP celebrating the band’s 10 years has a couple of cover songs on there by two of my favourite bands, everyone loves W.A.S.P. and of course Alice Cooper is a legend. If you had to choose a third cover who would you pick?
Andy: We love many bands in the hard rock world, and we chose two bands that not many cover. We wanted two ‘horror rock’ artists because the EP was originally due to come out at Halloween time. But because of the pandemic we had some delays, vinyl now needs a very long production time. The first single ‘He’s Back’ by Alice Cooper was released at Halloween and we just wanted to do something special for Halloween. I’m not sure who else we would have picked though.
Mark: I see W.A.S.P. is getting back on the road in Europe soon, it would be a great band to support.
Andy: I see that, it would be great.
Mark: I can see with the way that you treat the songs the love you have for both of those artists but who else is important to you musically as far as influences go?
Andy: For me, I started playing bass after listening to Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ I was ten years old, but I think my favourite bass players are Duff McKagan from Guns ‘n’ Roses, Rachel Bolan from Skid Row and of course John Deacon from Queen. I’m not a technical bass-player so I love Rock and Roll bass players! (laughs)
Mark: What made you revisit the ballad ‘In Your Eyes’ on the EP? It’s a great song! But why that one.
Andy: This song was a Japanese bonus track from our first album ‘Let the Games Begin’ but the first time round the song was only acoustic, you know. Now we’ve tried to create a new version with all instruments, and keyboards. We wanted to play one old song on the EP to celebrate the past but with a new face.
Mark: It’s definitely elevated it to another level. As far as tour dates are concerned you mentioned that thigs are starting to get back to normal do you have any set dates?
Andy: I hope! At the moment we only have four shows conformed all in Italy, but we hope to come back very soon around the world.
Mark: Take it all the way back for us, you’re celebrating ten years of the band and you mentioned earlier that seeing Queen was an important moment for you, but when did you realise that music would be your life?
Andy: The Queen show on TV when I was young, do you remember the “A Kind of Magic’ Tour? Well when I was younger I saw that concert on TV and I fell in love with Rock there and then, so I decided then to start to play and I chose bass thanks to John Deacon. So that really was it.
Mark: And that led directly to your first bands.
Andy: Yes I stared with Heavy Metal with a band called Secret Sphere who I still play with now along with Hell in the Club and another band called Eternal Idol. I love many different kinds of music because I think that for a musician its important to be open minded. For Hell in the Club – we were born 11 years ago and I had wanted a Rock band for years but I wasn’t finding the right people in the beginning. Then I met these guys and everything was easy so we formed this new band and with these three bands I can play all of the types of music I like – Rock and Roll, Heavy Metal and Symphonic Metal. But I listen to many more kinds of music. I love Rock and Metal but listen to Country and Pop – any kind of music that creates in me something emotional.
Mark: What makes a great song for you? Asa writer what are the essential ingredients?
Andy: OK, it’s a difficult question, but I think the most important things for a musician is that it has passion. You write with passion, not for money or anything else. You have to try to give to a song one part of you, a bit of your heart and you have to be honest.
Mark: I love that answer.
Mark: If you could have been a fly on the wall in the studio for the creation of any great album in the history of Rock, what would you like to have seen being made?
Andy: Oooh! Another difficult question. There are many great albums in Rock history but maybe I can say Appetite for Destruction by Guns ‘n’ Roses – it’s a perfect album. The sound is ‘without time’. You never tire of it ever.
Mark: It’s been a great adventure for me listening to your albums, I came to hear the band quite late when you released ‘See You on the Dark Side’ so it was a wonderful journey backwards to fill in the gaps. Is the Rock scene quite strong where you are from? I know a few Metal bands and some underground Rock bands but not many with your profile?
Andy: There are a lot of good Rock and Metal bands here in Italy but Italy is not an easy country for this kind of music, there aren’t many rockers here. The audience is not so big so it’s difficult for a band like us. But maybe in the future the scene will grow I don’t know. But there are a lot of great bands here.
Mark: And it’s great that your label who are based in Italy and probably one of the most recognisable Rock labels in the world are supporting local talent.
Mark: If you were introducing someone to Hell in the Club and you wanted to sum up the band in a single song, what would you choose to play for them first?
Andy: One song? I think maybe ‘Devil on My Shoulder’ the title track from the second album because it’s very representative of our style and our music.
Mark: A great song. Every time we speak to someone for the first time we like to leave them with a really easy question.
Andy: OK. I sense this may not be easy! (laughs)
Mark: You may be right! What is the meaning of life?
Andy: (laughs) What is the meaning of life? (laughs) Maybe… (laughs) It’s very difficult!
Mark: Maybe it’s all about what David Coverdale told us when we asked him “Wine, Women and Song!”
Andy: (laughs) Yes, I agree!
Mark: Thank you so much for talking to us today Andy. I’m loving the EP and if I’m honest I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a cover of a W.A.S.P. song I’ve enjoyed before!
Andy: Thank you very much.
Mark: Take care my friend and stay safe.
Andy: Thank yo very much Mark, it’s a pleasure for me. Bye, bye.
THE NEW EP is out now!
HELL IN THE CLUB Official Site