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#MusicExchange: Hellcats releases 'End Of Days'

7 Mar 2023

Almost four years since the release of their debut offering, bare knuckle rock 'n' roll band Hellcats are back with a brand-new album, entitled End Of Days. Dirty, filthy and without inhibition, the album took two years to be written and produced. The duo consisting of Alessandro Benigno (drums and lead vocals) and Warwick Rautenbach (guitar) describe the release of End Of Days as a growing pain - a release of the past by dusting the dirt off their shoulders.

Image by Andre Badenhorst

The new music reflects something new and unexpected, whilst staying true to their loud, signature sound.

We chatted to the loud rock duo.

What is your purpose?

To make loud, bare knuckle rock n roll.

What does music mean to you?

Everything!

Our music is about

Love. Anger. Release. Rebirth.

What is your motto?

“If you need a motto to define yourself, you’re doing it wrong”

Fame is about

Smoke and mirrors. It is as overrated as it is irrelevant.

Retirement will happen when…

When the last breath leaves our banged up and fully lived-in bodies.

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We don't do…

Covers.

I would love to co-write with…

Josh Homme and Jacques Moolman.

Image by Andre Badenhorst

Where do you go for inspiration to create?

Inside. The source.

What is the most enjoyable aspect of your work?

That it’s not work.

The song you must do during every show?

“Wish you were dead”

Any funny moments on stage?

We’re a two piece. Alessandro on several occasions has just gotten up and left the stage for a bathroom break. It gets so lonely up there.

My heroes are…

Bowie. Mick Jagger. Ozzy. Rob MacLennan. Robert Plant. Jack White. Jacques Moolman. Dave Grohl.

Our style icon is…

Lemmy

Which living person do you admire most and why?

Dave Grohl. I’ve always admired him. I’m old enough to have been a fan of Nirvana when they were still playing. He left the most successful band in the world when Kurt died – and then casually just started the next most successful rock band in the world. Grohl is God.

What is your most treasured possession?

A Fender, Apple Red, Eric Clapton Signature series Guitar. I call her “Red”.

It's your round. What are you drinking?

Ice cold, bottom shelf beer.

Dream gig to do?

Glastonbury Pyramid Stage.

What makes you stand out?

Hellcats are a two-piece band that sounds like a 10 piece - with a drummer that sings loud, offensive rock n roll beautifully, from behind the drum kit, while I get to run around on-stage shouting profanities into the mic. We stand out like a sore thumb that’s had an amplifier stack fall on it.

Image supplied

Any nicknames?

All the good ones won’t be published here, but “Die Katte” is one that pops up every now and then.

If you were not a musician, what would you do?

Fall over.

Pick five words to describe yourself?

Bored. Content. Alive. At peace.

Five must have songs on your Spotify playlist

Death from Above 1979: Right on Frankenstein
The Rolling Stones: Street Fighting Man
Fleetwood Mac: Dreams
Shadowclub: Dirt and the Rubble
Fokofpolisiekar: Ek Glo in die Son

Greatest movie ever made?

Dazed and Confused

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What books are you reading?

The Creative Act: A way of being by Rick Rubin and The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.

What song changed your life?

When I was five years old Survivors’ Eye of the Tiger came on the radio and I made my mom leave the room because something was happening to my body, and that ‘something’ was rock n roll wearing me like a glove.

Who do you love?

My Wife. My Family. My Friends. My dogs Batman and Robin. My unborn child. Dave Grohl.

What is your favorite word?

Moist

Top of your bucket list?

Seeing Queens of the Stone Age at Machu Picchu.

Your greatest achievement?

Making music.

What do you complain about most often?

Terrible interview questions.

What is your biggest fear?

Missing out. I quell that fear by living life fully.

Happiness is…

Inside all of us

On stage, I tend to…

Sweat like I’m in a Britney Spears music video, having a bucket of water poured over me. And swear. I tend to swear a lot.

The best life lesson you have learned?

Life is short. Make it count.

What has been your favorite journey so far?

The Rock n Roll rollercoaster that has been Hellcats.

Do you do charity work, and if you do – what do you do?

We have done many shows for non-profit organisations which mean something to us – a couple were raising funds for children with hearing disabilities - Hear Yee, Homeless fundraisers and on our last tour before Covid – we donated all profits of the tour to POWA to combat GBV.