St. John’s hard rock outfit The Hellfire Club released their sophomore record Volume II in the latter half of 2020 to a warm reception in the local metal and rock community, leading to the band being nominated for the Loud Artist of the Year Award in the 2020 Music NL Awards. To further promote the record the band has now unveiled a brand new lyric video for the song “Pretty Possessions” which was released through the band’s Facebook page on February 16th, 2021. You can check out the video through the embed below.
The Hellfire Club are a four piece hard rock band from St. John’s consisting of Todd Wall on vocals, Chris White on guitars, Todd Sauve on bass and Pete Hanlon on drums. The band released their second album, Volume II, in 2020 which has resulted in them being nominated for the Loud Artist of the Year Award in the 2020 Music NL Awards.
First off, tell the people who we’re talking to!
Chris White, guitarist for The Hellfire Club.
Todd Wall, vocals for The Hellfire Club.
Can you give us a bit of information on the history of the band? How did you guys meet?
Chris: Actually the band was started by a couple of guys who aren’t in the band anymore! I heard that they had Todd up for a jam and I knew Todd’s vocal style from other things he did around town. I was a fan of what he does so I asked if I could come up and sit in for a jam. After a little while that configuration of the band disappeared and we all lost touch for about a year. It kind of ticked me off actually because I knew there was something special there. So, I called up Peter (drummer) and asked if he wanted to start fresh with only me playing guitar and Todd singing and the rest is history.
Why did you choose the name ‘The Hellfire Club’?
Chris: We had a bunch of names on a dart board….just kidding. To be honest with you I have no idea! I think Todd came up with the name.
Todd: The Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society men in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. Such clubs were rumored to be the meeting places of “persons of quality” who wished to take part in socially perceived immoral acts. I thought it would be a great name.
Can you give us a bit of insight into how you write your music? Who handles the lyrics? Is there one primary songwriter or do you guys take more of the ‘jam it out’ approach as a group?
Chris: I’m always writing music at home….I have so many ideas recorded that it’s ridiculous. I’ll pull together a little demo of what I’m thinking with some guitars, bass and drums on there. Something simple just to get the tempo’s and feel figured out. If I think it’s suitable for The Hellfire Club I’ll send it to the guys to see what they think about it and most of the time they think it’s great. We’ll get together and jam through those demo ideas. Todd is the lyric and vocal melody man.
Todd: Sometimes I glean lyrics from books I’ve read. Or they come from different relationships and experiences I’ve had. Sometimes they come easy, other times it can be frustrating. I then sit on the edge of my bed with my headphones on trying to fit them into what Chris has written. He’s so talented it makes my job a lot easier.
What bands would you cite as primary influences on your sound?
Chris: For me I love all the 90’s hard rock and metal bands. Things like Alice in Chains, Tool, Soundgarden, Helmet, Deftones, Quicksand etc. I’d like to think our sound falls somewhere into that category….with a helping of Black Sabbath on the side because who doesn’t like Sabbath? But to be honest everyone in the band has such diverse taste it would be hard to pin down a primary influence.
Todd: I’m along the same lines as Chris. Tool, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, The Tragically Hip and Blind Melon are my major influences. I love artists like Tori Amos, St. Vincent, and Florence and the Machine too. So, I’m all over the place also.
Your self-titled album came out in 2016 and it took until 2020 to release your sophomore record Volume II. What happened in those four years? Were there any big changes during that time that had an impact on your sound or the dynamics of the band?
Chris: After we released the self titled album we never played, jammed or seen each other for over a year. I think it was a difficult time for us as a band and once we got those songs out we needed the space to be honest. During this down time we got asked to play a benefit gig for a really good cause. There was no way we were going to miss contributing to it. Unfortunately, our bass player at the time couldn’t commit to the gig, so we asked Keith Foley if he wanted to do the gig with us. Keith had jammed with us in the first version of the band and I played with him in Sheavy so he was a great fit. After that gig we asked him if he was interested in sticking around. We were really happy with Keith’s playing and he was a great guy. Keith played with us for well over a year but life happened and he had to leave the band because of work commitments. We were cluing up the writing of the new material for Volume II and needed a bass player. We had a bunch of really talented guys inquire about the gig and come up to jam. In the end we chose Todd Sauve as the new bass player for The Hellfire Club. Of all the guys that auditioned he had all the qualities we were looking for and had a fantastic bass sound.
Todd: Like Chris said life sometimes happens and you need to work around that. We’re very happy where we are now.
How has the reception been to Volume II?
Chris: I think the reception we’ve gotten for our album has been fantastic. Everyone who hears it seems to really genuinely dig it.
Todd: It’s been great. We knew when we finished the record it was really good. It’s very satisfying to have that validated when people have a listen.
How do you think Volume II compares to your self-titled debut?
Chris: I think Volume II captures the band sound really well. The song writing is tighter then on our debut and the sound quality is a step above for sure. It’s a much more mature sounding record for sure!
Todd: Don’t get me wrong volume one is great in it’s own right. But the second record is much better crafted all the way around. We really up our game on that one.
You worked with Krisjan Leslie at Lab of Chaos Studio to record, mix and master the new record. What was it like working with them?
Chris: Krisjan was an absolute pleasure to work with! We’ll be working with him again for sure. He put a lot of work into our album and really got the best performances out of us. There was zero pressure from him and he made everyone feel extremely comfortable. I would recommend him to anyone!
Todd: I can’t wait to work with Krisjan again. Nothing but great things to say about the man. An amazing ear and a hard worker. He’s the best.
Of course since the pandemic started things have been a bit rocky in terms of live music. Do you plan on taking these songs to the stage as soon as the music world is in the clear?
Chris: Yes, absolutely! Playing live is always a blast and I think it’s one of our greatest strengths.
Todd: We can’t wait to play live again.
You guys have been nominated for the Loud Artist of the Year Award in the 2020 Music NL Awards. How does it feel to be nominated?
Chris: You know, when you make music you’re doing it for yourselves. You try to make something out of these ideas that you have in your head. When people gravitate towards that music you’ve written and genuinely like it…well that’s a special thing. It’s an honor to be nominated to be honest, especially considering the caliber of the other artists who are nominated as well.
Todd: It’s totally an honor to be nominated with such great artists. We write because it’s something we need to do or we’d explode. It’s for the love of it. If people like and enjoy the end product then that’s a major plus too.
What’s next on the horizon for The Hellfire Club?
Chris: New songs! I have 4 new songs written and we have jammed 2 of them so far. I think I’d like to go back in the studio as soon as we can and do an EP. That depends on a lot of different factors to be honest but I think we could certainly pull it off!
Todd: Nose to the grindstone writing new songs. It’s something we love so it never seems like work. I’m sure we’ll be back in the studio whenever we’re ready.
Thanks for taking the time to speak to us here at Heavy NFLD and good luck in the 2020 Music NL Awards!
Chris: Thank you guys for taking the time to speak with us! \m/
St. John’s hard rock band Madison Strip decided to start off the new year with a bang by dropping their latest single. The new track, entitled “Burn and Turn”, was released on December 29th, 2020, right at the end of the year, and is available on the band’s YouTube channel.
You can check out “Burn and Turn” through our YouTube embed below.
This is a huge deal for us! This year we’ve been selected as of the sponsors for the 2020 Music NL Awards. Specifically we’re sponsoring the Loud Artist of the Year award and honestly we’re incredibly honoured to be in this position. This year there have been five nominees for the award including as follows:
The Hellfire Club – Volume II
Qyn – Archetype
WasteCase – An Act of Defiance
Winterhearth – Riverbed Empire
Yes, Officer – Autobiography of a Naysayer
No matter who wins I just want to congratulate all of these artists for being nominated and for releasing some seriously killer music over the course of the last twelve months. It’s been a rough year but music has helped a lot of people get through it. We’re happy to be a part of this community.
St. John’s hard rock band The Hellfire Club announced on September 12th that their brand new album Volume II would be dropping on September 18th. As of this past Friday the album is currently available to listen to on streaming services as well as physical purchase either at Fred’s Records or through the band members themselves.
St. John’s hard rock band The Hellfire Club revealed that their second full length album, Volume II, had essentially finished being recorded as of August 3rd. Now the band has revealed that the release date for the record is this upcoming Friday on September 18th! The announcement came on Saturday, September 12th, following the reveal of the lead single from the record, “Ending”.
Volume II will be available digitally through all streaming services and physical copies will be available at Fred’s Records as well as through the band directly.
St. John’s hard rock outfit The Skeats announced that they were working hard on their third LP, the follow-up to 2019’s Bulletproof… by Midnight way back in October of last year. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus and the ongoing closure of businesses all across the country, many bands, including The Skeats, had been prevented from getting into jam spaces and recording studios to continue working on new music.
Now that the threat level in Newfoundland and Labrador has been significantly reduced and businesses are once again open to the public, recording studios are open for business. As such the band has been able to get back to work on record numero tois at Comfort Cove Sound Studio with Ward Pike. The band revealed that they were back to jamming regularly by posting the below photo on June 6th.
While we await the third record from the Keats Bros. & Co. you can check out Bulletproof… by Midnight through the below Bandcamp embed.
St. John’s hard rock outfit The Hellfire Club announced on Friday, June 19th, that their second album, simply titled Volume II, will be releasing this summer. While there has been no specification of release date we can assume that it will be coming out soon since June is already almost over.
The group’s first record, which was self-titled, was released on March 3rd of 2016 and they have been somewhat inactive in the years since. While we await the release of Volume II, you can check out The Hellfire Club through our Bandcamp embed down below.
St. John’s hard rock band Ascend the Throne are seeking a new drummer following the departure of former drummer Peter “PJ” Byrne. The band revealed on October 17th that Byrne would not be performing with them for their then upcoming performance at Treble Lounge’s Evil Shred event on October 25th due to a back injury that he had been struggling with.
ATT will unfortunately not be playing our full band set at the Treble Lounge: Evil Shred Halloween Show due to a back injury PJ (our brother and drummer) has been battling with. In place of our set we’re going to open the show with a short acoustic set of some of our songs to pave way for the heavy hitters in Dendron and Madison Strip. These guys put off a kick ass show. Another band may be added. Check the event page to keep updated.
Following their acoustic-only performance at Evil Shred the band announced on October 28th that they would be seeking a new drummer. As such we can assume that the severity of Byrne’s injury is such that it has prevented him from playing drums in the same capacity as he was in Ascend the Throne, though we know that this has been an amicable split between Byrne and the band. We at Heavy NFLD are wishing Byrne all the best as he recovers from his injury. If you or someone you know is interested in filling the role of drummer for Ascend the Throne send the band a direct message via Facebook.
Jaded Truth are a brand new band in the downtown scene of St. John’s, Newfoundland who play a style of grunge that can be closely associated with Nirvana or the Melvins. According to the band themselves they sounds as if the Melvins and Primus had a baby. The band is comrpised of Across Darkness and Within the Realm drummer Michael Small as well as former members of fellow local band Lying Season.
The group played their first show at Distortion on July 12th alongside local mainstays Chris Osmond and Last Ditch Effort and fellow relative newcomers Last Cigar. On July 22nd the group released their debut single, “Darkest Night”, available for streaming on YouTube. Check out the song through our embed down below.
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