Doomed Confessionary: Joel (Helve)
Helve is a 5 piece post-metal/doom band from Leeds, UK. The band incorporates the heavier elements of sludge/doom genres mixed with more ambient/soundscape sections akin to the post-metal bands such as Rosetta, Cult Of Luna, and Isis.
Helve’s debut full-length album »To Be Forgotten« was released on September 29th, 2023 via Ripcord Records.
Can you say a few words about your band?
We would primarily describe our sound as post-metal, but within that genre are mixed elements of sludge, doom, and ambience. We feel we capture these elements within our songs. We are Leeds, UK based and have been active since 2015 although we have had multiple line up changes over the years, but hope now we have a stable line up.
What was the biggest challenge for the band this year?
I think like a lot of other bands, and people in general, Covid had a big impact on us as well as mental health struggles internally for some of the members of our band. It’s been a huge challenge for us to get to the point of releasing an album because of the reasons above and life in general, meaning it has taken us a number of years to finally get the album completed and released. Unfortunately our long time vocalist, Jay left us a few months back, which was a big loss as he’d been with us for such a long time. Jay had his reasons and it was very amicable. I’ve known Jay for 13 years or so, so he will always remain a close friend. Fate then stepped in and brought us James, who was already a friend of the band, and also happened to Be moving back to Leeds. He has really brought new life into the band and is an amazing vocalist and person so we’re excited about the future of the band again.
What can you be most proud of this year?
The main thing is the album. It was released on September 29th through Ripcord Records. Charlene at Ripcord has been incredible. It’s kind of felt like she’s become the sixth member of the band, as she has honestly gone above and beyond to get our album out there, her work ethic is incredible! It was a daunting task for us being complete novices with regards to labels releasing records as before this we’ve only self released our debut EP, which was way back in 2015, so we’d very little prior knowledge about how it all worked. But thankfully Charlene put her faith in us, and has also hugely helped to boost our confidence and self belief in not only the album, but the band in general. We cannot thank her enough, and will certainly be working with her again with future releases for sure.
What was your biggest regret?
It’s been such an amazing year, it’s hard to think of any regrets as a band really to be honest. It’s really been all positive for us.
What was the best concert/tour this year and why?
We’ve only done a handful of gigs this year as we’ve concentrated so much effort on our album, but I think our last one was most special to us, as it was our own album launch. The atmosphere was great, and we got to hand pick the bands and people we love. We had Battalions from Hull guest headline, who we played with years, and years ago, so it was amazing to see them play again. We had our friend Yuri and his new band Mistress Of The Megalith open the gig, and they were awesome!! He has been a great supporter of us, so it was an honour to have him involved with the gig, with the bonus of him and his band smashing their set. We also had our label brothers in The Grey play. We knew from day one we wanted them for the show, and were willing to set the date around their availability. Again they have supported us so much along the way, and are an incredible band, I mean, INCREDIBLE, and all such lovely people. It’s always a pleasure to hang out with them and witness the intensity and grandiosity of their live performance.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Selfishly it’s been the response to our album. So many incredible reviews have been written it’s honestly been humbling, and completely surprising. There was always a level of self doubt even when we were happy with the sound of the album, so to have people react and respond so positively has been incredible.
Where can we see you live next year (concerts/tours)?
We’ve got a number of gigs in the pipeline, loads we can’t announce just yet. The only one that has been officially announced is in London at ‘Masters of the Riff’ festival. This is a weekend festival and is happening at Oslo in Hackney from 1st of March to 3rd of March. An incredible line up so far, so we recommend getting a weekend ticket as each day will be amazing. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more gig announcements too.
What are your plans for the next year as a band? What do you personally want the most?
Gigs, gigs, and more gigs. Some more festivals would be amazing too if we get asked. I really want to just explore more venues and play with awesome bands. Playing live is what we’re all about. We will also be working on new material towards our next release which is exciting.
Do you already know what are you doing on New Year’s Eve?
I’d love to give you a really interesting answer, but I’m working both new years and eve and new year’s day, so won’t be up to much. I gave up drinking about a year ago for several reasons but also haven’t got the stamina anymore anyway! I’m old and boring haha.
How can people best support your band?
The main thing is come and see us live. It’s where we most feel at home and where you will see us at our most raw and emotive. I feel to truly get a feel for a band you need to experience them live! Live music is the heart and soul of what we are about as a band, and local/underground bands need most support to keep going and keep the scenes alive. Aside from that, we have merch, so to help us continue as a band, come and support us that way. And we also love to chat to new people as well so it gives us that chance when people come over to the merch table.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
It’s hard to put into words our gratitude to everyone who has downloaded, bought physical copies of, and streamed our songs. It’s all still a dream come true for us and it’s the people that listen to us that give us the drive to keep on being the best we can be, so thank you all.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well