If you are in the market for a punk rock meets metal act that are not afraid to embrace their uniqueness and authenticity- look no further than Hungary’s own The Hellfreaks.

Inspired by real life storytelling and the art of writing music that will have you moving from head to toe- The Hellfreaks are an act that stands apart from their counterparts in the best way, growing an international following from their home city of Budapest to our home base in Boston.

Having released their fourth studio album, God on the Run one year ago this month, the band were immediately thrown for a loop in 2020 when their international touring plans were put on a halt following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, one year later and still in the throes of the pandemic, we had the chance to chat with The Hellfreaks about how they handled the past 12 months, what they hope fans know, and what their hopes for the future are. 

You can read our full interview with The Hellfreaks below, and be sure to check out their latest release “Red Sky [Unplugged]” available now.

Second Society Report: How are you holding up during this insane year that is 2020? Hopefully your friends and families are staying safe and healthy!

The Hellfreaks: Hello there! Thank you very much for having me! Keeping in mind that we’re going through the apocalypse of the music industry, I would say we’re doing quite well. We are all healthy as are our families and our cats. Of course we’re going through some unusually hard times, what really matters is our health! 

Second Society Report: Did you have any big releases or tours that were put on hold because of the pandemic? How has that affected the band? (could be personally, financially, morale wise, etc.)

The Hellfreaks: Of course! We released our 4th album in February, right when the first signals of the pandemic began in Hungary. We worked for 2 years intensively on this album and had many expectations for the release year, but we definitely did not see this coming. We played 4 gigs after the album was released and that was all 2020 had to offer us. It was a punch in the face. It took us a while to get up from this shock, but when we did, we saw the possibilities and started to focus on writing and recording. It is a situation that we could not and can’t change right now, so we decided to make the best of it. 

Second Society Report: How have you been spending your newfound “downtime” while the world has been essentially shut down?

The Hellfreaks: It was out of the question that we had to change our plans: we started to focus heavily on online content creation. We started to share more of our lives and thoughts, recorded more music videos, started vlogging and still have some surprises for our fans that I can’t reveal right now. And of course we’ve started to work on new songs which is a bit difficult as we just released a full album and normally we take some time before we head back to songwriting. Our fans know that very well: we like to reinvent ourselves for each new record and that is a bit tricky right now. But we take on the challenge!

Second Society Report: Have you picked up any new hobbies while quarantining that you’d like to share?

The Hellfreaks: Actually I did not really “receive” more time because of this. The only thing that changed in my personal life is that I had to learn to do everything on the spot, in my flat. To work, to practise, to train, not to lose my mind, to write instead of going on tour.  The only new thing I started to do is a bit of calligraphy which I do enjoy, but I’m absolutely not talented at it. 

Second Society Report: Have you worked on any new releases during this time? Any that are already out or that we can get a sneak peak of?

The Hellfreaks: Big YES! We released a new video beginning of December for our song “Doldrum Dynasty” from our latest album God On The Run.
But also, we’re working on a new record and I’ve almost exploded! That’s how much I would love to reveal and share it with our fanbase. But for now they need to muster some more patience till that happens. Me too. 🙂
Even though we’ve prepared some other surprises that we’re going to share soon, I  recommend everyone subscribes and follows us on YouTube and Spotify to see and hear it first hand! 

Second Society Report: If already out- what was the inspiration for the release? Have you written any songs specifically about the state of the world right now?

The Hellfreaks: 2020 was challenging, the [deterioration of] physical and mental health of an entire civilization is something no one has faced in our lifetime … We chose “Doldrum Dynasty” because the message of our song couldn’t be more relevant today. Don’t waste your time on self-doubt, just go for it! Jun run to your goals, don’t stop, bring wind into your sail, be your own storm! Don’t hesitate, don’t be idle, always crave for the wind in your own doldrum dynasty!

Second Society Report: How has it been being an artist in a time when you cannot tour? How have you been working to promote your music and expand your reach?

The Hellfreaks: Not fun at all but we’re by far not the only ones who are affected, many other industries are going through their downfall, so I really don’t feel that I have the right to be a cry baby.
As I said, we quickly saw the possibilities in this. We’re in a very special situation: our fanbase is spread all over the world. Normally we mainly tour in Europe, that’s why many of our fans couldn’t see us live and won’t for a while, even when everything goes back to normal. The pandemic is a difficult situation but at least we can give our fans more Hellfreaks content than usual thanks to social media and YouTube.  

Second Society Report: Do you have any words of advice for fans that are feeling particularly bummed out about the live music world coming to a halt?

The Hellfreaks: We clearly share your pain, but we’ve also noticed something unexpected: we’ve never felt so close and so supported and actually loved by our fanbase. Fans reach out to us directly and we are more than happy to reach back! I’m sure most artists do feel the same. The digital world is destroying so much, but it has it’s positive side as well and actually this is it. Use it. Try it! We can all get closer now. We all miss playing, we all miss meeting each other, to share the vibe of live music. But if we’re able to stick together in these times, just imagine how it’s going to feel to go to a show when you share this relief with your favorite artists! 

Second Society Report: When the world returns to a safer spot and we are able to (hopefully) attend live shows again- say in 2021- what do you hope to achieve?

The Hellfreaks: For now we can’t, or rather don’t dare to plan any shows, so we’re focusing 100% on the creative process. That being said, we just hope to be able to write another great record that brings us forward on our path and which can surprise and make our audience happy at the same time. 

Second Society Report: Is there anything you wish your fans would know about you or about the current state of the music world?
The Hellfreaks: Soon we’ll all be over this and we will all come out stronger than before, so let’s focus on the light at the end of this tunnel! Thank you so much for having us! Follow us, like us, subscribe to our YouTube channel as there is so much coming right now and we hope to see you all someday personally at a Hellfreaks show!

You can stream The Hellfreaks’ latest single “Red Sky (Unplugged)” out now, and be sure to follow the band on social media to stay up to date on all new releases.

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