HELLCATS Release New Album END OF DAYS
Date | Event | Tickets | |
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17 FEB - 11 MAR 2023 | HELLCATS: End Of Days Tour 2023 | BUY TICKETS TO END OF DAYS |
Almost four years since the release of their debut offering, bare-knuckle rock ‘n’ roll band HELLCATS is back with a brand new album entitled END OF DAYS.
By Underground Press
Published Tuesday, 14 February 2023 12:15
Dirty and without inhibition - the album comes after the release of two singles: 'Sugar' - released in 2022, and 'So So' - released earlier in February.
The rock duo’s debut album, The Hex and the Healer was released in 2019 and gained them nationwide recognition with two South African Music Awards (SAMA) nominations, as well as a #3 spot on the SA iTunes Album Charts on release day. Music from the album was also included in global rock playlists across Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer. HELLCATS also had the privilege of opening for international giants THE CURE and INCUBUS on their SA tours, as well as for the Australian duo DZ DEATHRAYS, and SEETHER on both of their tours.
With their raucous sound, the band is proud to present END OF DAYS; an album which took around two years to be written and produced in its entirety. Sticking to their winning formula, Craig Hawkins from Audio Militia was, just like with their debut offering, again at the helm of production for the new album. Craig built a state-of-the-art studio in the basement of his house and equipped it with the best analogue and digital equipment that beautifully captured HELLCATS’ huge sound.
The result: An album which consistently captures the raw, no holds barred sound of HELLCATS while staying true to the essence of their sound as a two-piece; nothing is done in the studio that can not be replicated on stage and the sound on END OF DAYS is mammoth.
With the world entering a pandemic in 2020, ‘dark days’ was definitely the inspiration for the album. The band started writing most of their new songs while knee-deep in the throes of lockdown.
“They say the best music is inspired by heavy times - and this was true for this body of music. The songs just kept coming and in fact - before we went into studio we had a bank of around 40. These songs were our therapy and each one reflects a different emotion over the last couple years. God knows there were plenty - the good, the bad and the ugly. But it got us through those times; music saved our lives once again for the billionth time.” says Warwick.
Even though it was tough to get into a room and write music together during these times, the duo kept writing and kept doing what they love and kept making music. They describe the release of END OF DAYS as a growing pain - a release of the past by dusting the dirt off their shoulders, ready to return the favour for the kick in the pants over the last few years. For the first time, HELLCATS took their time crafting their music and allowed new styles, influences and genres to infiltrate their creative process. Their new music reflects something new and unexpected, whilst staying true to their loud, offensive to the ears, signature sound.
While HELLCATS’ music tends to revolve around their past and current relationships - varying between past lovers, current partners, themselves and even emotionally connected relationships with issues that are important to them - END OF DAYS also marks the end of what has been an extended, reckless youth for the duo. They have both grown up and re-assessed what’s important to them as individuals and as musicians. So while the name END OF DAYS seems a little macabre, it is more about leaving the past in the past and being reborn to whatever comes next.
“There is a definite undercurrent of rebirth running through the concept of the album. END OF DAYS means multiple things to us - the end of a really heavy time that the world has just been through, and the end of rock ’n roll - at least as we know it from our experience as a band. The musical landscape in SA has changed so much (for better or for worse), that rock has become more of an underdog than it has ever been. And how poetically beautiful and inspiring is that? Rock is just where it has always been - in the dirt and the rubble, just how we like it.”
END OF DAYS Track Listing:
- Sugar
- Faces
- You Want Me
- Mountain
- Demon Keeper
- Last Dance
- Fangs
- I Would
- So So
“We are proud of the fact that we’ve managed to take the music into a bit of a different direction - because if it ain’t broke, break it! But we have stuck to who we are as a band; two people in a beautiful love affair with loud, bare-knuckle rock ’n’ roll. And we can’t wait to take fans on this ride with us.”
IT’S LOUD. IT’S OFFENSIVE.
IT’S ROUGH MEETS SMOOTH.
IT’S DIRTY WITH A COUPLE OF CLEAN SPOTS.