HIGH AS HELL - The Vinyl Countdown
Written by: Tom Wilson @thetomwilsonexperiment - Sense Music Media | Sunday 14th August 2022
Hitting the Surf and Hitting the Pit with FAZZ HELLMAN
“I’m a moody motherfucker,” Fazz Hellman tells SENSE during our interview. In fairness, he has every right to be. Singer/guitarist for Victorian heavy metal three-piece HIGH AS HELL, Fazz is on the mend after a brush with the spicy cough. The treatment, he explains, is simple. He’s been hitting the waves with manager and KING PARROT shrieker Youngy, and spoke to SENSE about getting back into it as the band release their 2020 album Razorblade Dream on vinyl…
Have you tried singing yet?
Yeah, after the surf we jammed on Friday night, and yeah, it was just hard work, man. Just fatigued really quickly … We got a new song down, which is awesome, but yeah, when I’m done, I’m done. It’s just like, “Alright, everyone get out!” [Laughs]
“No partying. Fuck off.”
Yeah! [Laughs] So if I start coughing my lungs out, I apologise, man!
What can you tell me about the new song?
Oh man, it’s actually a bit more of a desert, stoner rock kind of groove, man … We hadn’t rehearsed for ages, because Chris, our drummer, they just had another baby in December, so we were playing all these shows with KING PARROT and that, but not really rehearsing. So the first jam that we had back, I kind of wasn’t really prepared. [Laughs] And then just started playing this riff, and we just did this full improv jam, and I’ve got this little Zoom recorder, and if something sounds cool I’ll hit record, and lucky I did, because there was definitely some magic in that jam … We kind of went off and started tinkering with it, and then yeah, we tried it out on Friday night, and it’s very cool, man! Very cool!
Do you have a title for it yet?
The working title at the moment is Over the Line, but yeah, these things tend to change from time to time, depending where the song takes us.
Razorblade Dream was first released in 2020. What have been some of the reactions to it so far?
Oh man, all very positive, hey? Especially playing it live, it’s definitely got a bit of a party vibe about it, and you really notice it playing these songs live. People [are] really, really digging it. It’s been great, actually. We’ve been looking forward to having it out on vinyl, and that time is soon coming, man!
I’ve seen you twice so far this year, first at The Bendigo Hotel, and then at The Zoo, where I was up the front. You can actually see my enormous melon in all the videos of you guys because I’m 6’7” and I tower over everyone. I think at one point you were like, “The best headbanging on this song gets a shirt.” I haven’t received my fucking shirt, Fazz!
[Laughs] Oh, dude! Did you come up to claim your shirt?
I guess not! Jeez, aren’t you supposed to be a mind-reader? Fucking hell, Fazz. You’re the worst bloke!
[Laughs] I tell you what, as soon as I said that, I thought, “Fuck, we’re going to have a massive line at our merch just claiming this shirt,” and no one ever came! … [Laughs] That was a great night, at The Zoo. What a great venue.
I always found that stoner and doom stuff, live, is awesome. There is something about its delivery in a live environment that just simply doesn’t translate to recordings. You have to witness it live.
100% man, 100%, I totally, wholeheartedly agree with you. I think it’s got to do with … the music is so moody, and I’m a moody motherfucker. [Laughs] I’m either in or I’m out, and if I’m in, then it’s fucking game-on. I think, just because the music has so much sway in it, and so much room to move and breathe, it actually becomes a living thing live, and once you start feeding off the audience, and the audience is feeding off you, and everyone is feeding off each other, then you’ve got a magical moment happening.
Speaking of live stuff, the PANTERA tribute – what are your thoughts on it?
Man, I’m all about it. I think it’s fucking great. I know that people have their issues with it, and I get that, but the most important thing is that PANTERA’s legacy lives on. That’s the bottom line. Like yeah, of course, the most integral part of the band ain’t here anymore, but how cool would it be for 18, 19, 20-year-olds to be telling their mates that they’re going to see PANTERA?
The first time I got to see KING PARROT was in Brisbane in 2019 opening for Phil Anselmo and finally got to hear those songs live, and it was nuts.
Yeah man, I was at two of those shows in 2019, and they were just fucking jaw-dropping man. Phil, he’s just this beast. He’s this beast onstage, and he just demands respect onstage. I don’t know. I think it’s cool, man, and seeing Zakk Wylde? It’s just going to be cool as shit, man. I’m all about it. I think people just need to untangle their fucking knickers and get on with it, man. [Laughs]
So what plans, if any, do you have to follow up Razorblade Dream?
Well, we’re actually in the writing process for album number two as we speak. We’ve got about eight tunes ready to go, and we’re probably going to get a few more under our belt. We actually had a chat with Youngy on Friday night just starting to throw some rough dates around to get in the studio and jam it out, man. We’re hoping sometime early to mid next year, we’ll have album number two out, man. We’re really, really looking forward to it. We’ve been sitting on Razorblade Dream for a long time now, and it’s definitely time to move forward for us.
I remember saying to you while you were onstage at The Zoo, you were beer-less.
That’s not good!
You had what [KING PARROT guitarist] Ari White would consider as a fucking crisis, and within two seconds, Youngy just swoops in side of the stage, almost running, with a beer for you!
[Laughs] I do remember that! I do remember that, and I just thought to myself, “This dude is the best manager you can fucking ask for, man!” Always making sure his boys are fucking sorted, man. He’s always got us covered. He’s always got our back! … The dude is an absolute machine. He’s not even human, man. I don’t even know. He’s just got this fucking superpower. I don’t know how he does it, but he fucking does it, and he’s just so focused all the time and so positive. Yeah man, keeping up with him has definitely been a learning curve, man. That’s for sure! It’s been great.
Thanks for your time today, man. I hope you start to feel better. I don’t know if you’re a fitness guy, but try going for a run. That helped me.
Oh dude … [Laughs] I’m transitioning into being a fitness dude, how’s that? I love my surfing man, so I’m hoping to just get back out in the water. I live down the surf coast of Victoria, so definitely looking forward to getting back out into the water and just let the ocean heal me, man!
Razorblade Dream is out on vinyl now. Get your copy here.
HIGH AS HELL play their vinyl launch at the Barwon Club in South Geelong on Friday the 9th of September. Tickets available here.
Pictured: HIGH AS HELL