Maria Breon: HolyHell is all about great songs and musicianship

This summer has been filled with accomplishments, for the five highly trained musicians of HolyHell. Maria Breon (singer), Joe Stump (guitar), Francisco Palomo (keyboards), Jay Rigney (bass) and Rhino (drums) have performed on 6 European festivals; BestFest included, and have released their debut album, with a very good feed-back. Singer Maria Breon, whose dark, powerful voice has become one of the trademarks of the band, has spoken to us about HolyHell, a concept brought to life by her own vision.

Metalfan: How did the four of you get together?
Maria Breon: I wanted to learn “how” in the music business from someone with experience; this desire led me to the school of “Joey DeMaio”.
I wanted to find the very best possible songwriters and musicians and our friend Jack Starr led us to Joe Stump and another friend introduced us to Francisco Palomo. Rhino had been a supporter of the project from the beginning, so of course he was first in line for drums; and Jay Rigney proved to be the perfect fit for bass as he had already been working with Joe Stump.
It was not an easy task to find this chemistry, but once found it was undisputable; so in 2005 we formed the band HolyHell and went out live in support of Manowar without a record.

Metalfan: Who came up with the name for your band?
Maria Breon: I chose the name HolyHell.  It was the perfect fit conceptually and to the musical goals of the band so I immediately knew it was a perfect fit.

Metalfan: Did music play an important part in your life & family when you were growing up?
Maria Breon: I have been singing from a very young age; and I describe the rest of the important role music played in my life as, enjoying music so much; that I had no choice other than to shed the fears, and make it happen over and over again.

Metalfan: You’re one of the few bands that performed live, on the stage of important metal events, prior to having a record out. Was it difficult to go on stage and win the audience without the support of marketing & promotion?
Maria Breon: It was very hard but it was exactly what we chose to do. It was the best way to perform and get out in front of a live audience and see actual results and to meet our fans in person and to communicate with them. The band proved successful and so we went in to the studio to begin recording our EP Apocalypse.

Metalfan: Your music is characterized by the mixing of classic metal and hard rock elements with orchestral arrangements and haunting gothic melodies. Could you point out one of you as the main songwriter in the band? What about the main lyricist?
Maria Breon: Francisco and Joe are proving to be the core writers of the music, and myself with the lyrics; but with HolyHell it’s all about great songs and musicianship, we would never deny a song written outside of the band or by other members like Jay or Rhino, who are also excellent songwriters.

Metalfan: How does a new song come together? Is there a general rule in terms of who comes up with the idea, how you shape it and bring it to its final form?
Maria Breon: We usually work from the music of Francisco or Joe and shape a concept of what the music is saying emotionally and lyrically to form the melody. From this we find a working title and look for catchy melodies by listening to the music over and over again; It’s a process over time, and then suddenly a concept, melody or title just flows out and forms; and when this creative process happens it’s amazing, and when others like the results it’s even more indescribable.

Metalfan: Your music is very powerful, not only from the instrumental & melodic point of view, but also from the visual one. What is the main inspiration for it?
Maria Breon: Life and the love of playing and interacting with our fans.

Metalfan: You are all highly trained musicians. Let our readers know a few words, about the musical background that each of you holds.
Maria Breon: I studied voice privately and then at a conservatory but I could not continue to study forever because I wanted to form a band; Francisco, a child prodigy who started playing piano at the age of five, and is a post graduate of music, came from one of Mexico’s top bands; and Joe, who is well known as the “ShredLord” or as the “Professor of Metal at Berkley, is one of the worlds top shredders, and Jay studied at Berkley; Composition and Orchestration and finally, Rhino who is undeniably a talented drummer; has the experience of Manowar. So we have all been very dedicated to our craft individually, and this makes us even stronger as a unit.

Metalfan: You are in the position of having released, 2 year ago, a very successful EP. Now, your first album “HolyHell” has been out for a while. How’s the feed back so far?
Maria Breon: Our record was released in time for our debut in France during the “Death to Infidels Festival Tour” where we appeared as the special guest of Manowar, and sold thousands of records to newfound fans. The continued success repeated in every country we played live. New and familiar fans were taken in with the songs and bought the record, so we couldn’t ask for more than this.

Metalfan: Which is the greatest dream that you haven’t fulfilled yet?
Maria Breon: My greatest dream I have yet to fulfill is to be a master of my own creativity and life; and share it with the world.

Metalfan: And what about your greatest accomplishment?
Maria Breon: Learning and graduating into something I love and envisioned, which is HolyHell.