Scriptorium Magazine is always digging up archives and bringing back bands whose history and career are interesting to discover. On this occasion we introduce an act that was founded in 1984, and although they have had their ups and downs, they continue recording and offering very atypical music in our opinion, and worth checking out. We are pleased that the four members have taken the time to answer our questionnaire (like in the old days). They take us by the hand to learn about their history, their stumbles, their achievements and above all, they leave us the message of never giving up.

1984 was a special year when BATHORY released the debut album, CELTIC FROST “Morbid Tales”, METALLICA “Ride the Lightning” and IRON MAIDEN “Powerslave”, just to mention a few. HEXENHAMMER came to life that very same year and I am wondering if any of these masterpieces had a direct impact on creating your band?

Argos: At some point very early on when I joined the band, I borrowed a friend's mixtape cassette that had Manowar on one side & the full “Ride the Lightning” album on the other- I had never heard anything like that back then, and it completely changed the way that I looked at metal. That album is the one that actually influenced me the most during that time.

Tony: 1984 was a good year if you were a bassist. Dio's “Last in Line” with Jimmy Bain- my fave pick-player on bass. “Ride The Lightning” with Cliff Burton pounding out those lead-bass licks. Steve Harris on “Powerslave”! Malmsteen's “Rising Force”. Queensryche's “Warning”, and Voivod's “War & Pain”- I'm having flashbacks just thinking about it. Of course, those albums affected the way you play. I'm always influenced by other musicians.

I am intrigued to know what the metal scene is like in Columbia, Tennessee. Are the Tennessean metalheads familiar with the fact of having a cult band like yours around?

Gene: Well, I don't know much about the scene there since I'm in California right now.

Arthur: Ha! In Columbia there is no metal scene, or any other scene to speak of, for that matter. There is nowhere for a band to play original music or hang out. Nothing. Columbia is just your average small-nowhere town, just like a thousand others, so I don't really want to hate it. For some people it's fine, but it's just a depressing dead-end place for someone like us. We embrace the fact that most of our original followers are all dead now, and except for the old die-hard Subhumans, the majority of people living in Columbia right now have no idea who the fuck we are or would even care anyway lol. For whatever reason, most of our cult following (Howling Legions), etc. are from the outside world.

Argos: But despite that, we should also say that there are some good original bands around there, though! Four Barrel Funeral, Sadistic Statistix, Khamoon, The Hollowsters, Caligari Dali, they're not metal but they're still cool, and you have the right to look them up online if you want to. No one can stop you!

How’d you describe the accomplishments during the first years, or the hardships close to 1991 that led the band to dismantle?

Argos: Well, of course, making our D.I.Y album “Underground” in 1990 was a high point, and love it or hate it- mutherfuckers are still checking it out to this day. All of the good & bad times that we spent at the decrepit JAMHALL with our cult of friends, as well as everyone from our inner-circle in Jax Beach, Florida! As far as low points- of course, the main one would be when John McClain blindsided us with his decision to quit HexenHammer, and sometime after that- committed suicide. At that point, we were all pretty lost and searching for whatever, then the whole experience with N.F.C started and the years just started to disappear.

Gene: And we never wanted to stop. We knew that we still had music to make.

Arthur: Fate just had a different path for us to take- the LONG fucking way around, though! And I mean, I don't think anyone believes the account of what actually happened because I know it seems like science fiction or some shit.

A 24-year hiatus is a long time to cool things off, however in 2015 you brought HEXENHAMMER back to life. Why did you bring it back after all those years?

Argos: It's ironic that you put it that way-“cool things off” lol You don't realize how right you are...We don't exactly keep it a total secret or whatever, but this is the part of the story that we tend to leave vague, partially because of a non-disclosure agreement that we may or may not have agreed to...and it has to do with what Arthur was just alluding to. But basically, not too long after the split back in '90, we were contacted by individuals from an organization called N.F.C Industries. They were looking for people to interact with for a research/development program having to do with cryonics. We agreed to the terms and stayed there for a really long time. But yeah, around 2015 we left there and started to readjust to the way everything is now and tried to get back on track. Soon after that, we were contacted by Heaven & Hell Records about them re-releasing our album Underground and HXH playing at the Ragnarokkr Metal Fest in Chicago. So, we did that and it started to get the blood flowing again- just like Colin Clive said it would!

After reforming the band, the second album was released in 2023, eight years later. Was the band focused on something else besides writing and recording new songs during that time?

Arthur: Yeah, not losing our fucking minds or committing atrocities! Do you believe in curses? I don't know if they're real or not, but sometimes you wonder. I mean; to make a long story short- we were continuously dealing with one thing after another during that time, that seemed to constantly keep everything derailed & sidetracked. Other people leaving, the recording was trapped to where we couldn't get access to it for a while, then Covid, and the Plague, and even more that we won't go into. It sucked, but we were committed to completing this album and getting it out, no matter what. It took forever and also took a heavy toll, but we made it fucking happen through sheer determination and pure stubbornness, didn't we? So don't ever let anybody tell you that you can't do something, because we're living proof that they're wrong and they fucking suck. And while we're at it. Fuck them for ignoring us, too!

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Has Hyberacula, your second album, given you the kind of exposure you were hoping for? How and where can we get it?

Argos: Yes! I think the whole Hyberacula experience has been very unique and appropriate, all things considered. We are an indie-label underground cult-band that will probably only interest a certain type of niche audience- so we exist in our own little corner of the universe. We know that we'll never have mainstream success, and we exist in the underground- under the radar, anyway. We released this on a small local independent label called House of Autumn Spells. Still, I would like to get as many reviews for Hyberacula as possible. So far, the reviews that we have gotten have been pretty much exactly what I had hoped for! If you want to experience Hyberacula for yourself you can find it on our website, HexenHammerHXH.com, also on Bandcamp, Spotify, YouTube, & so forth. There are actually still a few limited collector's edition CD's left- with the art, booklets, lyrics, stickers, etc. There were only 50 made- so if you're a collector & interested in that, contact us through the website or Facebook or whatever while they're still available. But, for the full experience, since the lyrics to this song are everything. I would suggest watching the YouTube lyric video. It's swell.

For a band that was formed in the 80’s, is it comfortable to navigate these modern times of social media and use it in your favor?

Gene: Well, I don't know, but yeah, we've adapted pretty well, I guess. It's cool, though- everyone seems to be digging the HXH website and everything else! We've been getting exposure in some fanzines & compilation albums in Europe, like Metallurg and Slowly We Rot. It's amazing to be able to reach people in so many other parts of the world now through the internet.

Tony: If we would have had social media when we broke out, we would have been even more dangerous. Just the internet alone, all the information you need is right at your fingertips. We had to learn about playing and recording the hard way- trial and error. No YouTube tutorials lol, it was constantly resetting the needle on a turntable or rewinding a cassette. It's much easier now for aspiring musicians than it was when we came up. The days of torturing people for information are over now, all you have to do is Google it.

Arthur: We old as fuck!

There are some albums that are so full of intimism and are deeply personal to the extent that the makers don’t expect the audience to understand it or to care about it. Does any of this apply to Hyberacula?

Argos: I think I get what you're saying there lol. And Yes! That actually does relate to Hyberacula. This is such a different album from anything else that you will usually see, so I know that not everyone will dig it, and I suspect that a lot of it will probably go over some people's head's if they don't have the attention span for it. This is a true concept album. It's one song and forty minutes long, a science fiction audio-drama recorded on the lowest of budgets, on obsolete equipment. It took like 32 years real-time to bring out of sub-thermal interment, I mean, it's different! Lol. And actually, the whole motivation behind doing this album this way was that I really didn't care so much if it was bad or good, as long as it was different. I just wanted it to be different from anything else. And even though the sound might be rough, or not as professional as your favorite bands- that's not really the point. It's all about the story. I'm just relieved & satisfied that it's finally done! No matter what happens now, it exists somewhere out there alongside its influences, 1984, Brave New World, Animal Farm, The Twilight Zone. I mean, we can tell you all about it 'till we're blue in the face, but instead- why don't you just give up 40 minutes of your life that you'll never get back, and go listen to it while you still have the chance? I'll wait.

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Is HEXENHAMMER ready to hit the stages or is it more of a studio personal project nowadays? Are there any plans to play live?

Gene: Not exactly. Playing live shows is not something on the schedule right now, because what we're currently working on is taking our full time and attention, but we never say never. We've got some surprises in store for you!

What’s more for HEXENHAMMER this year? Any last words for your followers and our readers?

Tony: Last words? Arthritis is a bitch and so are your moms.

Argos: First of all, I just want to say thank you to Alex and everyone at Scriptorium for the interview. Scriptorium Magazine is excellent! Thanks to you for being out there and helping to keep metal alive and spreading the word! As far as what's next, we've got a classic new song and video in the works! It's too early to let that cat out of the bag yet but imagine a mixture between our genre of "Gen X metal" with NWOBHM and Doom metal. We've got a million more songs & dirty ideas to cook up for this next chapter and it's about damn time! HexenHammer has a lot of unfinished business to attend to.

Arthur: And uncle Lester, our mascot back in the fruit cellar at the Hexenhaus, said to give all of the perverts and subhumans out there his regards, and to never give up on your nightmares! He also said that we may not enter your home unless you seek us out and invite us in, of your own free will. Join us!

Gene: Yeah, put your seatbelts on, because the rides are not over yet.

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