Formed in Stockholm around 1995, The Hellacopters (named after a tabloid news story about Helicopters flying over Marijuana fields) were united by a love of AC/DC, Rolling Stones, Kiss and Detroit luminaries MC5 and The Stooges. The initial line-up consisted of Nicke on vocals, Dregen on lead guitar, completed by Kenny and Robban on guitar and drums. For Nicke, former drummer with noise-mongers Entombed, founding The Hellacopters meant he could express his passion for music on his own terms. "I just got fed up of the whole metal thing," says Nicke. "I'm really proud of the last album I did with them 'To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth' but I never saw any Chuck Berry in that music and in the end I just lost interest."
After the release of their debut, the fantastically titled "Super-Shitty To The Max" and the follow-up 1997's "Payin' The Dues", the line-up changed as the band parted company with Dregen, now of Backyard Babies. "He had to make a choice, he couldn't do both Backyard Babies and Hellacopters" acknowledges Nicke. "It's just too bad he chose the wrong band!" he says with a laugh. "They're a good band but they're more sunset strip glamour rock - we have more soul than they do." How has Dana (Dregen's replacement) fitted in with the band? "Dana has a distinctive guitar sound that has rejuvenated the band. We're really happy with the way things have turned out," says Nicke. Following in the rock 'n' roll tradition of entertaining stage names, full-time electric pianist Boba Fett is christened after the iconic Star Wars bounty hunter - whilst backing vocals on the album are provided by the ludicrously named Matt McHellburger.
GRANDE ROCK, The Hellacopters' third album evokes the sound of a righteous jam in a garage after a couple of beers. The reality however couldn't be further from the truth, as the album was recorded in a remote area near the Norwegian border. "It was really weird," recalls Nicke.
"We spent three weeks in this studio called 'Silence'. There was nothing except trees. It was like something from 'The Shining'." An atmosphere akin to the Stephen King cabin-fever classic should have driven our Swedish heroes crazy but as luck would have it the isolation from the real world only pulled the band together and the result is a taut album with killer riffs that cut close to the bone. Opener 'Action De Grace' goes full-throttle in its groove-heavy riff attack, 'Move right out of here' is classic rock 'n' roll at its best, while 'Welcome to Hell' takes a leaf out of Florida rockers Lynyrd Skynrd's book.
The ultimate test of pure unadulterated rock 'n' roll lies in its live experience. The thrill of playing live has never deserted The Hellacopters who are no strangers to constant touring, having played Europe and Scandinavia in '96 and supported stadium gods Kiss in 1997 with various festival performances in-between. "It's always good to preach our gospel to new people but we're just happy to be playing. One of the best gigs we played was in Alabama at a house party in someone's living room. I've never done that before - it was awesome," enthuses Nicke. In time-honoured rock 'n' roll style, The Hellacopters rely on large quantities of booze to see them through the night - but can they live up to the legendary excess of their 70's heroes? "We consume alcohol on the rider, drink more and then crash. When you play at 1am and no one else is up for partying, it's just us. It's nothing special - we're just a regular bunch of guys with a stupid sense of humour!"
Catherine Chambers