As you probably know already, HELLREAL is the new band of John Karnes who after the splitting of his main band, Scepter, decided to spend his musical inspiration and effort in a primitive Black Metal project… The results; “Hell Is Here On Earth” a dirty and negative piece Metal worthy of all our attention, the music this album contains has this evil and grim vibe, only comparable with classics such the early works of Bathory or the cult demos of Von… After hearing this work, I just wanted to know more about this entity, its music and its plans… So here is the interview Mr. Karnes kindly accepted to answer…

 BB: First I would like to congratulate you for your killer work at “Hell Is Here On Earth”… Can you tell us about Hellrealm beginnings?

* Hell is eternal…no beginning, no end.

BB: I lost your trace before Scepter’s “Fucking Metal Motherfuckers”…can you tell us what happened with your musical activities between Scepter’s “Fucking Metal Motherfuckers” (2003) and Hellrealm’s “Hell Is Here On Earth” (2006)?

* SCEPTER played their last concert in early 2004. After that we rehearsed less and less until it became obvious that we could not continue. I began working on HELLREALM in 2004. SCEPTER officially disbanded in early 2006 and that’s where HELLREALM officially begins.

BB: You have a wide and well known carrier, playing Death Metal with The Dead Youth, Thrash Metal with Scepter and now Black Metal with Hellrealm. Which style has been, to you, the most satisfactory one?

* I play what feels right at the time. At the moment, HELLREALM satisfies my METAL needs better than anything else.

BB: How you define the sound of Hellrelam?

* HELLREALM is sickness, hatred, fear, lies, lust, filth, shame, complete corruption and total spiritual destruction. Tainted audio/words for poisoning hearts, defiling minds and ruining souls. The songs are made up of 2-3 parts each with lyrics anyone can understand and are based around “thud-thud-thud” type drumming. I just concentrate on one or two ideas at a time and beat them to death.

BB: How was the composition process of “Hell Is Here On Earth”? How long took it?

* I wrote “Hell Is Here On Earth” during 2004 into 2005. I would come up with one main idea either musically or lyrically and make a song from that. Lately, I will write a song on the spot and we’ll record it. I’ve been playing METAL long enough to know exactly what I want and how to achieve it. Once a HELLREALM album has been recorded, the songs will not be played again live. If I want to hear them again, I can listen to the CD.

BB: Hellrealm has become pretty well-known in really short time… I have seen “Hell Is Here On Earth” in several underground distros around the world… Can you tell us more details about this release? Is it a limited edition? Was this album only released in Cd format?

* “Hell Is Here On Earth” contains 8 songs in 25:22 minutes and comes with a 20-page b&w, illustrated booklet. It looks just like it sounds. I had 1000 copies made up and I’m giving them away to as many sick-fucks as I can. “Hell Is Here On Earth” is available for $13 from TNTP but you can probably get it cheaper from your favorite distro. It is only available on CD for now. If you need your METAL sick and straight-to-the-point, HELLREALM is the band for you.

BB: Can you tell us about The Number Thirteen Productions? I must admit this is the first time I heard about it…

*TNTP is my own label. It just makes everything easier. If I was a millionaire, I would sign bands, pay for everything, give the bands the final product and help them promote their release any way I can. That’s the same thing I’m doing with HELLREALM, except for the millionaire part, ha-ha! The people who should have “Hell Is Here On Earth” will get it eventually.

BB: Your music has been compared with bands such early Bathory and Von, was these bands influences to you? What were the most influential bands to your band and personal tastes?

* Elements of “The Return…” have certainly influenced me as I brainwashed myself with that album along with the all the other thrash classics back in the 80’s. I heard the Von album a few times when it came out. Celtic Frost, Venom and Slayer probably had the greatest influence on my writing/playing technique over the years and that will always be part of me but I need to move on. HELLREALM’s simplistic approach will probably be viewed by some as a regression but I look at it as a step forward in the evolution of my METAL psyche. HELLREALM is the latest distillation of my original influences and whatever else I picked up along the way into its purest and most refined form.

BB: This album has a primitive, evil and negative vibe I haven’t heard in quite a while… To which you attribute this?

*All my works are the result of what I see, hear and experience everyday. Everything is fucked. We are all either going to be destroyed or be enslaved. Most people are too distracted and ignorant to comprehend what’s
really going on and it makes me sick to my soul. HELLREALM is my way of dealing with this.

BB: What is Black Metal to you?

* An off-shoot of original thrash.

BB: What’s your opinion about today’s Black Metal scene?

* I really don't know enough about today's BM scene to comment on anyone/anything specifically but I continue to check out new bands that I hear about by word-of-mouth. I am a disciple of original thrash but I’m always on the lookout for new bands that will kick my ass. These days, so many bands combine the already-established styles of black, thrash and death into their sound that it's hard to find a band that's just pure "this kind" of METAL or "that kind" of METAL anymore. It’s almost like how it was back in the 80’s when anything extreme was just called “thrash”. That’s the school of METAL I came from so now I just use the blanket term “extreme METAL” to describe the stuff I am into today. Bands can declare themselves to be whatever style they wish. As long as it’s death-heavy, black as hell and thrashes your ass, that's all that matters.

BB: What’s your personal favourite track of “Hell Is Here On Earth”?

* Probably “Desolate Nuclear Wasteland” because it represents personal growth for me as a guitar player (I am a bassist first) and it’s just a killer song. The ending of the song also contains the heaviest bass dive/final note I’ve ever heard. I was so fucked up when I wrote that song that when I first recorded it I couldn’t even remember what I just recorded. So when I went for walk the next night to check it out, I was essentially listening to a “new” song I was hearing for the "first" time. Since I wrote it, of course I was blown away, ha-ha! I really can’t compare that to any other experience. Same situation with “Fornicator Of The Beast”.

BB: Are you satisfied driving this band a solo project? Have you considered including more members to Hellrealm in the future?

* HELLREALM is definitely a solo effort but I prefer to go with a “band name” because my name alone just doesn’t sound as rock n’ roll as something like, "Ronnie James Dio", ha-ha! I will continue to enlist the talents of allies/mercenaries of my choosing for all future HELLREALM releases.

BB: When can we expect a new Hellrealm release?

* Sometime in 2007.

BB: Thanks once more for your time and words… Is there anything else you want to add to this interview? These last lines are all yours…

* Enter HELLREALM.