Helldorado was formed in the spring of 2001 in Stavanger, Norway. Most of the members had been playing in the local band The Tramps for several years, and had considerable live and studio experience with that band. They where looking for a much darker and broader musical landscape than they could find in The Tramps, and got together playing punked up surf covers with their new band Helldorado. After a while the band and their sound started to develop. They started adding their own songs to the set, and after a couple of gigs the rumours about the band was flying around town. In the fall of 2002 they entered the Stavanger traditional ZOOM week at legendary local rock club Checkpoint Charlie (a full week of local bands playing & battling for a spot at the ZOOM national finals in Oslo). Helldorado won the Stavanger leg, went to the final in Oslo and won there as well. The band was awarded a full Norwegian tour + a couple of gigs in the UK and Germany (Popkomm in Cologne).
In November 2002, shortly after winning the national ZOOM finale they released their first mini album Lost Highway at the local label CCAP.
The album received stunning reviews in the Norwegian music press (Dagbladet; “..six strong, minor tuned song”s, VG; “Dusty and dramatic”, Stavanger Aftenblad; “Helldorado is a mescaline cactus. The best Norwegian rockband today”, Rogalands Avis; “Americana to kill for”, Nordlys;” This is the best CD I have heard in a long, long time” etc) After they finished the extensive ZOOM tour, they spent considerable time in the studio in the summer of 2003. They developed a more aggressive, heavier and minor based edge. The fall was spent touring and perfecting their skills and their live sound In February 2004 Helldorado finally released their long awaited debut album Directors Cut in Scandinavia
"HELLDORADO - Director's Cut ”This is an aptly named album by this excellent Norwegian outfit - their echoey, gothic take on rock'n'roll drips atmosphere and attitude, and would be perfect soundtracking some Quentin Tarantino flick. Blood Shack's clattering tale of lust and vampirism sets the mood, and the other 11 tracks are filled with epic quantities of murder, deceit, guts, gore, hellfire and brimstone, all of it leavened with a dark, twisted sense of humour. There's also more than a hint of Nick Cave in Dag S Vagle's songs and voice, and in a fair and just world, Helldorado would find similar amounts of fawning press coverage and sales. Some chance." (The Belfast Telegraph)
After Directors Cuts release in Europe by Glitterhouse in October 2004, both critics and music lovers all over the continent are discovering the band.
Glitterhouse UK says this about the Directors Cut album: “Hellfire seems to be burning in each of their songs, be it the mighty, but balladesque tracks like "Diesel & Bones", the hard-rocking tracks like "Payrolled" or "Killer on the Highway" or the plain desert-rock anthems, such as the masterful "Blood Shack", there can be no doubt, Helldorado rocks! Apart from that, they are looking way cool (as if they just escaped the lunatics' asylum), and their live shows are legendary. Their musical roots are pretty clear: Gun Club, 16 Horsepower, Morricone, Chris Isaak and/or The Cramps, obviously without being copy cats of the aforementioned, they add something very specific to their music. It may be their ability to write fantastic tunes, hooklines that will make you shiver, and their ability to keep the quality of their songs, as diverse as they may be up on the highest level throughout the 11 tracks of "Director's Cut"”
The Ballad Of Nora Lee is the third release from the Norwegian quartet. The album shows a band that is still deeply fascinated and inspired by American music and subculture, combining elements from different genres but still managing to sound unmistakably like Helldorado. These guys are no copycats, they mean it man! They pick from the best and make it their own. Mighty ballads, stompin..rockers, desert-rock anthems, Mexican trumpets, spooky strings and rocking attitude, Helldorado..s got it all. Since their last album, Directors Cut, the band has taken a step closer to the Mexican border, but the band still evokes the sensation of a burning sun on your neck, crunched sand between your teeth, a salty taste on your lips, a shaky finger on the trigger of a Colt 45, circling vultures silhouetted against a blue-white sky, a double whiskey on an empty stomach, and the smell of bacon, beans, gunpowder, leather & sweat.
The Ballad Of Nora Lee also saw the band having a surprise hit in Turkey with the album track “The Drinking Song”. The track was playlisted by Radio Eksen and quickly attracted a lot of attention. Helldorado has done four sold out tours of Turkey, been covered extensively in Turkish media and gained a new level of popularity when an adapted version of Drinking Song became the official song of the Turkish National Football Team.
Helldorado is a fantastic live band and their gigs are legendary. Combine their abilities as a live band with their natural coolness and a bunch of rocking tunes that other bands would kill for, and you have a success in the making. So get into your 65 Chevy, a few bottles of Whiskey, grab some good looking, mini-skirts wearing girls and drive through the night, waiting for what will happen. The perfect soundtrack is already there!
Discography
Lost Highway - minialbum (CD & vinyl) - CCAP019/020
Directors Cut - album (CD) - CCAP029
The Ballad Of Nora Lee (CD) - CCAP040
Sinful Soul (CD) - CCAP085
Helldorado website
Nu kör vi igång vår HÖSTKAMPANJ 09 med riktigt bra priser på bland annat: tröjpaket och mössor med brodyr. Vi har ett mycket stort sortiment av merchandise till ert band eller bolag! Besök vår webbsida redan idag för mer info. www.vodrecords.se
Vi önskar alla våra vänner på MySpace en riktigt rockig höst! Vod Printings ------------- We print & supply t-shirts, merchandise & backdrops to the independent music scene, contact us for more info! www.vodrecords.se
..Hey Brothers & Sisters! We are proud to announce the biggest GYPSY HOTEL event ever at The HACKNEY EMPIRE, FRIDAY 3rd JULY.
THE URBAN VOODOO MACHINE will be launching their long awaited debut album ‘Bourbon Soaked Gypsy Blues Bop ‘N’ Stroll’ (in the shops July 6th!)…Joining them on this momentous occasion will be …
…The Fire Tusk Pain Proof Circus | Gawkagogo | The Cesarians | Empress Stah | Lady Ane Angel | The Texas Chainsaw Orchestra | Frank Sanazi | Lalla Morte | Missy Macabre | dj Scratchy | and maybe the odd surprise guest or two…
Vi vill med denna lilla kommentar bara påminna om vår Festivalkampanj som nu har startats. Vi har satt ihop flera mycket billiga paket till de band och bolag som behöver trycka t-shirts, eller annan merchanidse, till sommarens festivaler och spelningar. Besök vår webbsida redan idag för mer info.
Trevlig rocksommar önskas alla våra vänner på MySpace!
Vod Printings ************************** We print & supply t-shirts, merchandise & backdrops to the independent music scene, contact us for more info! www.vodrecords.se
WINTERSLEEP'S OVER! Discorporate Records comes with the first in a series of releases...
ZARBOTH - OUT NOW!!!
Rising from the sophisticated underground of Paris, Etienne Gaillochet (drummer of Paris finest We Insist!) and Phil Reptil stumbled together for a blindfold project full of twisted rhythm, beautiful yelling and playful staccati. Yes, dear people! Another crazy duo. Interweaving Jazz, Rock, Noise and Pantera. A hell of a lot fun. A journey. A glimpse. Or to say it in Bill Hicks' words: It’s just a ride! So is Zarboth.
