Metal heroes Hell Fire and Haunt team up at the Kilowatt
SAN FRANCISCO -- Mixing elements of classic British metal and thrash, popular Bay Area quartet Hell Fire shares the stage with like-minded Fresno band Haunt at the Kilowatt in San Francisco Saturday night.
Bashing out their classic-sounding mix of late '70s British metal influences and more aggressive early thrash riffs, Hell Fire was founded in 2010 by guitarist, San Francisco native and pro BMX rider Tony Campos after he met recently transplanted Mexican metal fiend and bassist Herman Bandala. The pair started out playing covers of songs by their heroes Iron Maiden, Diamond Head and Metallica, gradually developing their own vocabulary and writing original songs. The two musicians found additional collaborators and started playing their thrashing tunes at shows around the Bay Area.
After cycling through several line-up changes and refining their songwriting, Hell Fire eventually connected with singer Jake Nunn before recording their self-released debut album Metal Masses in 2016. The current line-up would be complete when drummer Mike Smith joined before the band recorded its sophomore album Free Again the following year. The effort showed a quantum leap forward in songwriting and arranging as Campos and Bandala refined their riff chemistry on NWOBHM-infused tracks like "Wheels of Fate" and "Beyond Nightmares," the later featuring Bandala's growling wah-wah pedal manipulations that recalled Metallica's original bass legend Cliff Burton.
Since that release, the band has steadily raised its profile, playing shows with local thrash legends Exodus and Municipal Waste and touring clubs across the country. Hell Fire signed to noted SoCal metal imprint Riding Easy Records, which reissued Free Again on vinyl in 2018 ahead of the band's label debut Mania in the spring of 2019. The first recording to feature Nunn playing guitar since he took up the instrument, it showcases more deft six-string interplay and some of the band's most memorable metal anthems yet.
The pandemic shutdown that closed music venues across the globe forced Hell Fire to stay home and focus on writing and recording material for their next album. While 2021 brought the departure of longtime bassist Bandala, the band was able to recruit Rancid/Charger four-string master Matt Freeman to fill in on recording sessions for their upcoming Riding Easy release. Kai Sun of the SF metal band Space Vacation has since joined as a permanent member. Last summer, the quartet released its fourth album Reckoning, another bracing salvo of galloping, infectiously melodic, two-fisted metal that was met with wide praise.
Hell Fire plays its first show ever at the recently reopened Kilowatt in San Francisco's Mission District Saturday night, joined by like-minded Fresno outfit Haunt. Guitarist and bandleader Trevor William Church, the son of Bay Area rock icon and Montrose/Sammy Hagar Band bassist Bill Church, first came to fame with now defunct doom metal group Beastmaker. When that project dissolved, he began to write and record as Haunt, playing most of the instruments himself on the band's initial releases for Pittsburgh, PA-based label Shadow Kingdom Records.
Church has refined a more classic, melodic metal sound on the numerous singles, EPs and a whopping eight albums issued in just six years of existence. The guitarist would recruit a group of players to perform his music live, making Haunt a viable touring attraction and a frequent addition to metal festival line-ups in the U.S. and Europe. While echoing similar New Wave of British Heavy Metal influences of Iron Maiden and Angel Witch shared by Hell Fire, Church's songs are as hook-heavy as some of the best Maiden and Priest singles from the '80s back when metal actually got radio airplay. SF group Here Comes the Comet mixes elements of doom metal and Misfits-style horror punk and includes two former and current members of acclaimed Sabbath disciples Orchid.
Hell Fire with Haunt and Here Comes the Comet
Saturday, May 6, 8 p.m. $18
The Kilowatt
