Heavy Metal never dies

SF-based thrash metal band, Hell Fire, carries the torch onwards for a new generation of metalhead. 

There was a time when the parthenon of my musical collection was a Sony 5-disc carousel, and the first five Metallica albums spinning in an endless loop.  Starting with Hit The Lights, through Creeping Death, onto Pupppets, Battery, ending with The Struggle Within… my musical journey was complete.  It was equal parts thrash-metal enjoyment and music education.

Although I have grown somewhat in my musical tastes over the past three decades (Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)? Really?  A fucking bass solo?! It’s not that good… and fuck any ‘bassist’, aka failed lead guitarist, who says otherwise…), I still appreciate a good metal album.   Many bands try, and many fall short of the mark of excellence.  Some have tremendous virtuosos on guitar, and a hella-lame singer that sinks the ship.  Maybe other’s can’t write a solid tune or ‘soften’ their sound to try and appeal to whichever fad is popular at the moment.

The free-wheelin’ creativity and infectious vitality of the 80s Bay Area thrash scene is a moment forever locked in time, but its spirit lives on in the galloping guitar picks, soaring harmonies and blistering rhythms of San Francisco quartet Hell Fire. The band’s perfect hybrid of NWOBHM theatrics and American thrash attitude delivers a rousing and genuine expansion on sounds long lost to pointless battles over who can be the most “extreme.”

Mania, Hell Fire’s third album and proper debut on RidingEasy Records (the label will also reissue the band’s sophomore album, Free Again for the first time on vinyl in January 2019) warmly condenses elements of influences like Angel Witch, Iron Maiden,Rainbow, Exodus, Metallica, Riot, Virtue and Diamond Head into 10 tracks of headbanging MUYA anthems.

With a major North American tour lined up, we caught up with Hell Fire for some good laughs about the halcyon days of thrash metal, the future of the genre, and all-things Hell Fire.

Slickster: You guys have a huge North American tour lined up for November and December. What can you tell us about the tour, and of course we know you’re excited.

Hell Fire (Tony): The tour is five weeks through North America we’ll be hitting a lot of Canada in the beginning before heading through the east coast down to Flordia and back across the country. This will be our longest stint on the road yet and we couldn’t be any more excited then to be doing it with Death Angel and Exmortus.

Slickster: Have you and the boys in Hell Fire, been doing anything extra ordinary to prepare for the grueling road tour?

Hell Fire: Nothing as of yet we still have a couple of short runs up and down the west coast these next two weeks then after that our focus will be preparing for the upcoming tour. Mostly putting together a solid set for the tour and stocking up merch and all other tour essentials.

Slickster: A point of personal privilege: We have been saying the NEW wave of British heavy metal for nearly four decades now. Would you agree maybe it’s time to change it to the OLD wave of British heavy metal? Or maybe the CLASSIC wave of British heavy metal?

Hell Fire: It’ll always be the New Wave of British Heavy Metal to me. I hold so many of the bands in that movement close to my heart, that era really helped shape my playing and song writing. OWOBHM just sounds event weirder somehow hahah.

Slickster: There are many debates about what is metal and what is not metal. Where do you draw the line? What makes something metal and what disqualifies something as being metal?

Hell Fire: If It’s just gotta be pure, fast, heavy and real it’s metal!

Slickster: Let’s ask some controversial questions. How long has Metallica no longer been relevant? (Laughs)

Hell Fire: They’ll always be relevant they’re fucking Metallica!! I don’t really listen to much after …..and Justice for All but that doesn’t matter. They’re still amazing live and came out with some of my favorite records of all time.

Slickster: Are chick singers in metal bands a ploy to try and sell records, or is that totally not metal?

Hell Fire: Not a ploy at all some of my favorite bands of all time have women vocalists and are currently some of the hardest working bands out there. Check out… Sanhedrin, Lady Beast, Solicitor, Night Viper, Christian Mistress….

Slickster: What advice would you give to young musicians? 

Hell Fire: Never ever stop following your dreams.

Slickster: Thrash metal has always been known to rely upon a high degree of technical proficiency on drums, bass, and guitar. How does Hellfire keeps in musical shape for the live performances and albums?  I.e. what do you do to keep your chops up?

Hell Fire: We practice a ton, as a band and as individuals. There is always room to improve and always some 8 year old on YouTube that can play better than you hahaha.

Slickster: Where do see you the future of thrash metal and heavy music in general going? 

Hell Fire: I feel like Heavy Metal as a whole will continue to grow. It may not get to where it was 30 years ago, but that can be said for every genre of music. Heavy Metal has the most dedicated life long fans, you can’t ever stop that.

Slickster: Thank you for talking with Slickster Magazine about your music and upcoming North american tour. Is there anything else you would like to discuss, mention, or say, that we didn’t get a chance to cover in the interview?

Hell Fire: Thanks for reaching out to us! We’re really excited for the upcoming North American tour and our plans for 2020. We’ll be going to Europe for the first time and will start recording our upcoming album…. Thanks to everyone who checked out this interview, follow us on our socials Instagram, Facebook, YouTube etc. we’ll be posting a ton of tour videos on our YouTube channel this fall and much much more. Thank you for the support!

HELL FIRE LIVE 2019:

Nov 16th – Seattle, WA – Club Sur *
Nov 17th – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater *
Nov 18th – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theater *
Nov 19th – Edmonton, AB – Starlite *
Nov 20th – Calgary, AB – Dickens *
Nov 21st – Regina, SK – The Exchange *
Nov 22nd – Winnipeg, MB – Pyramids *
Nov 23rd – St. Paul, MN – The Amsterdam *
Nov 25th – London, ON – London Music Hall *
Nov 26th – Toronto, OM – Lee’s Place *
Nov 27th – Montreal, QC – Piranha Bar *
Nov 28th – Ottawa, ON – Brass Monkey *
Nov 29th – Quebec City, QC – L’Anti Bar & Spectacles *
Nov 30th – Brooklyn, NY – Saint Vitus *
Dec 1st – New Bedford, MA – Vault @ Greasy Luck *
Dec 3rd – Lancaster, PA – Chameleon *
Dec 4th – Baltimore, MD – Otto Bar *
Dec 5th – Richmond, VA – Canal Club *
Dec 6th – Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club *
Dec 7th – Tampa, FL – Brass Mug *
Dec 8th – Orlando, FL – The Haven *
Dec 10th – Lafayette, LA – Grant Street *
Dec 11th – Houston, TX – Scout Bar *
Dec 12th – Austin, TX – Come and Take it Live *
Dec 13th – Dallas, TX – Tree’s *
Dec 14th – Tulsa, OK – The Shrine *
Dec 15th – Enid, OK – 1927 Event Center *
Dec 17th – Albuquerque, NM – Launch Pad *
Dec 18th – Mesa, AZ – Club Red *
Dec 19th – West Hollywood, CA – Whisky A Go Go *

* supporting Death Angel

Hell Fire began when bass player Herman Bandala moved to San Francisco from Tijuana, Mexico with the hopes of forming a heavy metal band. Herman posted an ad to Craigslist which caught the attention of guitarist Tony Campos. They bonded over a mutual love of 80s thrash and NWOBHM, which was a hard thing to find in the Bay Area scene at the time. The lineup slowly morphed over time, finally solidifying with vocalist Jake Nunn also taking up second guitar duties and drummer Mike Smith joining prior to 2017’s Free Again.