Jen interviews Matt from Hellions about their latest news.

Hellions have revealed their brand new single “Thresher”, the second cut from their breathtaking new album, Opera Oblivia, to be released on July 29 via UNFD, and they will be taking it on the road at the same time on their Australian headline tour. On Sunday night, Hellions unveiled “Thresher” during their interview on 2016 with Richard Kingsmill, who compared the theatrical nature of Opera Oblivia to that of British rock legends Queen. 

Hi Matt, Congrats on all your great news this week, I am friends with some of you guys on facebook and the good news just keeps coming! 

Thank you!

Having your album Triple J album Feature Album of the week and the announcement of RedFest on New Years Eve in Perth and the tour starting next week….. Great things are happening right now for you guys, how are you feeling about everything seem to come together at once?

It has felt a little like a whirlwind, we couldn’t be more pleased with how things are shaping up. We certainly hadn’t expected the great number of wonderful opportunities that we’ve been afforded lately – it’s humbling.

You released Thresher during your interview on 2016 with Richard Kingsmill and on YouTube on the 11^th of July and I am not sure if you have seen the amazingly positive comments that have been posted. How are your presales for the album coming along after the two releases you have had already?

I’ve not seen those comments but you’ve inspired me to go and check them out! That’s awesome! as far as I know, they’re doing very well.

After listening to the album a few times I can see why Richard Kingsmill compared the theatrical nature of Opera Oblivia to that of British rock legends Queen. 

That is possibly one of the highest complements I have ever heard! 

Were you guys a little stunned with that comparison? 

It was an absolutely insane compliment to receive, especially from a man of Richard’s reputation – I still smile at the thought of it. Anthony, our friend and publicist Amy, and I were exchanging wide-eyed glances as we were making our way out of the ABC building after the interview and once we were out of the door none of us could shut our mouths about it, it was a wonderful thing.

Ha! Love it. The title Opera Oblivia meaning..  Opera (n) Plural of opus, meaning work of art Oblivia (n) A passive state of forgetfulness, this Is perfect for this album as previously mentioned. Was this an easy title to come up with? How did you? 

I was reading a book, and for the life of me i cannot remember precisely what it was, I daresay it was a Hesse book…and this word ‘oblivia’ had piqued my attention midway through. I have a tendency to romanticise archaic and foreign language, and this word had struck me as both phonetically beautiful as well as an accurate summary of the record’s content. The word ‘Opera’ had been masticated a lot during the writing process and when the alliteration of the two words came to mind, I wrote to other boys immediately asking what they thought of it. It was certainly a moment of epiphany and I’m glad that everyone else saw what I did in this title.

For me while listening to Opera Oblivia I felt a real sense that it was an album to play when I wanted to escape. I am a huge believer in happiness comes when one is true to yourself. I found that out after the age of 35, glad you found that earlier! What songs in particular do you think are the “escapist songs”?

Thank you, Jen! I couldn’t agree more. I perceive each of Opera Oblivia’s comprising songs to have escapist themes, but each in their own way. ’24’, ’25’ and ‘Quality of Life’ are intended to be the uplifters, whereas ‘Thresher’, ‘Lotus Eater’ and ‘Bad Way’ are a little more masochistic and commiserating.

I really do feel after 2 albums that this is your best work yet and you guys have the maturity for your songs to connect to the listener.  I find that I connect most to ‘Quality of Life’ the lyrics I feel that could have been written for me “You could be anything that you wanted to be” and more. With me saying that do you think that for at least one person you have achieved your goal of “We would love for Opera Oblivia to be an escape for its listeners,” ,“but more than that, we want it to commiserate with people through our common unpleasantries and overwhelming hardships, and also celebrate alongside our inevitable victory. We want people to allow it to befriend them and remain with them long after its sounds fade out.” suggests guitarist Matthew Gravolin

I hope it doesn’t sound like triumphalism but I do feel that we’ve accomplished that in spades. The record hasn’t come out yet and some of the things that people have said to us about the first singles have been absolutely heart-warming – statements grand enough to make me believe that a friendship between many listeners and Opera Oblivia is inevitable.

It is the truth so not triumphalism! The Album artwork is pretty cool, who designed this? I like the concept of the curtains tying in with the opera theme.

The artwork was designed by none other than Mr. Pat Fox! he’s wonderful, he has done some very important work with some great bands over the past few years and we couldn’t be happier with his work on Opera Oblivia.

 

 

You still offering the vinyl variants? Pink sounds great! Other colours still on offer?

There are a few vinyl variants still available! you can see them all at 24hundred.net 

 

Your music video for “Quality of Life” is great. Anthony’s sister (she is super cute!) makes the message so real to life. We are deformed by an adult society especially when it comes to bigotry and racism. The colour used in the video and the simplicity of a child’s happiness, really supports the message of the song. The question ‘Was I ever that happy?’ adds so much to the viewer and is thought provoking. The hug is also a pure emotional moment! Was the whole band involved in the concept of the music video?

She’s adorable, isn’t she?! I really like your perspective of the video – you understood the message there! The whole band was involved in the treatment of the video, the final product is a result of us and our videographer Neal Walters bouncing ideas off of each other.

How long did it take to shoot? Did anything go wrong or any funny stories you can share?

It took about eight hours to complete! I do have a fun fact for you – the scene where Anthony’s sister Isabel is dancing on the couch was only made possible by Taylor Swift and Carly Rae Jepsen. Izzy was quite nervous about doing the scene and wasn’t comfortable until we blasted pop songs and danced along with her behind the camera!

Really! That is adorable. I hope Anthony appreciates how sweet his sister is!

Thanks heaps, I wish you well for the release of your album, and your tour. I predict great things for you all!

Thank you! 

 

HELLIONS
Quality Of Life Australian Tour