Hellshock from Portland are dark crust, think Anti Sect, Misery with a good metal influence. The thing that attracted me first to them was their logo was written like AntiSect. If life was so simple to find such a classic band by their logo alone! This interview was done by Brian their guitarist. 1. Hellshock, sound to me like you have a healthy influence of black metal. What stuff influences you the most? Are you all big fans of Antisect? All of us like old metal, not much new black metal. I would say all of us like Bathory, Hellhammer, Venom, Mercyful Fate, Sodom, etc. I like a few black metal bands like the early Dark Throne, Mayhem, Emperor stuff but i wouldn't say i'm influenced by it. Most of our metal influence comes from Destruction, Venom, Slayer, Metal Church, Kreator, Sodom, Celtic Frost, Voi Vod, etc. We all like alot of different stuff from '77/Oi , rock n roll, new wave, early metal, hardcore, peace punk, etc. We are mostly influenced by the late 80's/ early 90's stenchcore/crossover sound: Later English Dogs, Sacrilege, Hellbastard, C.O.C., Deviated Instinct, Genital Deformities, Amebix, Axe Grinder, Antisect, Accused, etc. I am a big fan of Antisect, both the Lp era and the 7". Awesome! 2.What has the band been up to lately in regards of shows, touring or recording? We got back from our Japanese tour about a month ago. we've played a few Portland shows w/ Gouka(Jap), Regulations(Swe), Observers, Clorox Girls, Talk Is Poison, Sanctum, Criminal Damage, etc. We are going to take our time writing new stuff, maybe record sometime mid 2006. 3. How did the tours of Brazil and Japan go? How was the crowd response? How does touring over there compare to touring in the U.S.? Both Brazil and Japan were great! We had a great time on both tours. The crowd responses were very good in both countrys, maybe a little crazier in Japan though. Breaking even for your expenses is always different for different countrys. It costs alot more to tour Brazil, but the experience is totally worth it, very great tour! I think our japanese tour we anticipated the most and it surpassed all of our expectations. In the U.S. we got to see alot of old friends and all the gigs were awesome! I enjoyed touring in all 3 places pretty equally. 4. You have had some great artwork done for you by Mid, and the text written like Antisect. Do you think the packaging of a record/CD plays a big part of the process? I believe it does. I think if you are going for a specific feel or mood the artwork helps set that up, Grim artwork for a grim reality. 5. what's next for Hellshock? Thank you very much for you time. Next on our plate is playing Profane Existence's 16th B-Day in Minneapolis on New Years weekend. Then in late March a gig or 2 in Iceland and A UK tour in April. Thanks alot for the interview Sean. With all luck we will see you in April!