Hippie Death Cult Brews Heavy, Kaleidoscopic Sound With New Doom Metal Album
Photo: Eddie Brnabic
The mystifying Hippie Death Cult arises as a phoenix of uniqueness and self-expression in a metal world that is often driven by more uniformity than most of us would like to admit. Their music releases a spirit encouraging a break from standards, while staying true to their thick and heavy sonic atmosphere.
Their new album, Helichrysum, is a beautifully dark expression of genius on both physical and spiritual planes. It’s a defiance of oppressive systems that stifle love and harmony, and it holds together their connection to each other and their fans; this is the cult of Hippie Death’s metal.
Laura Phillips is on lead vocals for this new album—it brought a whole new, beautifully haunting vibe to the album. How did this come to be?
Photo: Eddie Brnabic
Eddie: Well, to be blunt, our previous singer had been displaying several toxic character traits and attitudes that we had been dealing with for some time and they were beginning to be unbearable right around the time of the releasing of our second album. It was unanimous that we needed to make a change and things finally came to a head with just a couple weeks before a national tour in support of “Circle of Days”. We had to figure out something in a hurry and it was suggested to have Laura give the vocals a shot, rather than canceling the tour, which wouldn’t have looked good on us or everyone involved in making it happen. Though she was very intimidated by the prospect, she dove in headfirst. She learned all of the vocal parts, worked with a vocal coach, as well as having to figure out how to play bass and sing for that tour. It was insane. We didn’t know how people were going to react, having a new album out with a different singer… different gender even. She was especially feeling the pressure. We went out and people really dug it and seemed to like us even better as a 3 piece, so we just went with it. From then we went on to do even larger national tours all across the United States and Canada , as well as European tours with her on lead vocals and bass, all the while working on new material and testing it out live. We wanted to give her the space she needed to create, especially with this being her first album singing lead vocals and writing all of the lyrics and melodies, etc. She did a lot of soul-searching and ended up learning new things about herself in the process. We couldn’t be more proud of what she had come up with and accomplished for the material. She saved the day and the chemistry in the band has never been better.
For being an underground band, you guys are really seeing some success in getting yourselves noticed—can you tell me a little bit about how you've pulled off such a feat? For any upcoming artists out there, could you give some advice on how to do it?
Eddie: It’s funny, because to me, it seems like we still have so far to go as far as getting exposure, but I really appreciate that perspective. It seems like such an uphill battle, and it’s really tough to catch a break. Up to this point we have been working very hard as a band, constantly touring and creating. I think being willing to jump in a van for 6 weeks and not make any money to promote your art is essential to organic growth as a band. Though obviously, for several reasons, it’s not very easy. Since the band's inception, I have been the common denominator and have in turn been personally responsible for taking on the heaviest load behind the scenes to push things along.
Photo: Elenora Attolini
I often joke that being in a band is only about 10% of playing music and 90% managerial and menial tasks … keeping social media in tact constantly, contacting journalists and news outlets, editing photos and videos, making poster art, creating content, booking, emails, emails, emails, updating websites, creating merchandise, making connections, corresponding with fans… the list goes on and it is endless. I’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices to get us to this point. We all have. I think if you want to choose to do anything like this, you are going to have to make some serious sacrifices. You’re going to have to sacrifice time hanging out with friends and family, you’re going to have to sacrifice time that you could be using to make money, and you have to sacrifice the idea of making money at all for a long while or ever, to be honest. I think there is no substitute for hard work. That’s where results tend to come from, and there are no cutting corners. Not for anything that is real and authentic. It’s tough as nails, and there are no guarantees. I don’t know if I would recommend it actually (laughs), but to me there is no question that my life is dedicated to making and sharing art.
Regardless of the music, you guys strike me as being incredibly creative in all ways; the visuals, the poetic, dark lyrics.. what are your other passions?
Eddie: Thank you, I consider myself a visual artist as well as a musical artist. I do professional photography and videography on the side, and I edit all of the photos and videos for the band, as well as curate the social platforms and a lot of the graphic design stuff. If I wasn’t doing this band full-time, I would likely be more immersed in photography and videography projects. Aside from that, my passion for my spiritual life and practices have provided me with a consistent source of inspiration through the years. To me, although newer to her, it makes sense that Laura finds healing and catharsis for herself and others through writing lyrics and melodies because she is a natural born healer. Her professional work has always been in the healing therapies world and she is the type that is always there for people in need. Her level of good-heartedness inspires me daily.
If there's one thing you can be remembered for in this life, what do you hope that is?
Eddie: That’s not something I think about often… I think if anything, hopefully it’s being an authentic source of positivity and creativity. At the end of the day, I just hope that my art makes people happy in some way.
Photo: Armand Lance
Hippie Death Cult’s Helichrysum provides a refreshing escape from the typical in stoner metal. They are musically navigating the psychedelic complexities of the human experience by weaving a vibrant tapestry of diverse, atmospheric layers of song. I truly love Helichrysum, especially since Laura Phillips took over the vocals on this one. Her voice is a dark elegance that works perfectly with deep, doom metal.
