West of Hell
They’re from West Auckland, New Zealand. They got the core of the band set but had trouble finding a singer locally. In 2009, they decided to pick up and make the biggest move of their young lives and eventually call Vancouver, British Columbia home.
They played a few shows in their new country and the music started to raise eyebrows even without a singer. The exposure from those shows as a four piece instrumental group drew the ire from a local legend. In to the fold came Chris “The Heathen” Valagao. If you’ve never heard that name before you should make sure you remember it. He’s the former singer for Zimmer’s Hole and that band had quite the lineup that boasted the likes of Gene Hoglan, Byron Stroud and Jed Simon.
Val’s diverse skill set gave this band the leg up it needed. This band is the mighty West Of Hell.
Sean Parkinson is the guitarist and the thing that comes to mind whenever I see him play is, “Why isn’t his guitar on fire?”
The strapping young lad owns his fretboard with relative ease and not only that, he’s one of the nicest people I’ve met in the local scene, and that is saying a lot.
Andrew Hulme is the man behind the kit and it’s safe to say he has some skills to pay the bills. He drives that band and his speed and destructive power is what sets these lads apart from many other acts.
Jordan Kemp annihilates the bass every time they’re up on stage and he has a great sense of humor too. I couldn’t count how many times he would make funny faces at me while totally killing it.
Most importantly, their stage show is what keeps bringing people back for more. Val knows a thing or two about presence and props and he’s no stranger to blowing things up. The confetti and dry ice guns are in full effect, spraying and shooting down on their adoring fans.
The real winner, in my book, is the grinder. No, not the Judas Priest song. Val actually has a metal pole on stage, takes a grinder to it and the sparks fly high up in the air. If you’re lucky enough to get up close you might be able to set your shirt on fire with one of the tiny embers.
How can their music possibly stand up to such a lavish live show?
It’s West of Hell.
Their debut album Spiral Empire is pure metal mayhem front to back. Each song is a throwback to what we thought metal was in the ’80s. They have truly gone down the path of metal with this amazing album. Rob Shallcross has lent a huge hand to the band, recording that opus in 2012 and managing the band as well. Rob is one of the finest engineers and managers around, showing off an impressive list of people he works with such as Gene Hoglan and John Longstreth as well. I love you, Chicken.
West of Hell is an act that will definitely be here for years to come and there’s only one way they’re heading.
Up.
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