Speed thrash death metalers Beltfed Weapon, featuring Frank Hetzel and his revolving band of legends, have released the new single and lyric video, "Head First Into Hell", from their upcoming Darkened Demise EP.
Frank Hetzel explains, "'Head First Into Hell' emerged from a side project idea with my friend Dagna Silesia who plays bass. She wrote half the riffs and I added my ideas and structured it out. The side project didn't happen, but I felt this song, 'Head First Into Hell' was very good and wanted to add it to the upcoming EP. I then reached out to Tim Aymar, as I really love his vocals, and asked him if he would be interested in doing vocals and he was on board, and Kragen and Bryan were on board as well. It is a honor to have all involved, not only on this song but the whole EP!"
"Head First Into Hell" features Frank Hetzel on rhythm guitar, Tim Aymar (Control Denied) vocals, Dagna Silesia (Warrel Dane, Ray Adler) on bass, Kragen Lum (Heathen, Exodus) on the main solo, Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy, Nevermore) on the end solo, and Bryan Newberry (Into Eternity) on drums.
Beltfed Weapon's Darkened Demise EP, mixed by Juan Urtega, also features Steve Tucker (Morbid Angel), Jason Viebrooks (Exhorder/Grip Inc), and JD DeServio (Black Label Society).
"Frank Hetzel has put together an incredible lineup of musicians for the Beltfed Weapon EP Darkened Demise. When I heard the killer music and saw the list of talent involved in the project it was a no brainer for me to participate. Who wouldn’t want to do trade-off solos with Jeff Loomis on a couple of songs, right?! Metal fans should definitely check this out when it’s available!" - Kragen Lum
"I first met Frank Hetzel in the early 2000’s through some mutual friends. I learned he was a Nevermore fan and also a guitarist, so we hit it off right away. I consider Frank to be one of my closest friends and someone I can always trust and count on. He’s a great dude and I’m very happy to have played some solos on his new EP. The longer solo in accept your insanity was something I obviously spent a lot of time on as it needed some kind of storyline to it. I quickly found myself working away at it on a cold rainy day in Seattle, which is always the most perfect vibe and time to write anything dark in our ever changing weather conditions. I think the final takes turned out killer and adds a cool flow to the song. Frank has come a long way with his writing and I’m super proud of him with all his efforts and great work ethic. For fans of Thrash and just good metal in general, I highly recommend giving this a spin. In the words of the late Chuck Schuldiner, “Keep the metal flowing” Frank, and I’m proud to call you a friend." - Jeff Loomis
"Years ago I was searching on YouTube for projects Ronny Munroe former metal church vocalist was involved with then, and I found Beltfed Weapon's P.O.W. and I was impressed. So I checked out more of their stuff. Somewhere along the line Guitarist Frank Hetzel friended me on Facebook and he contacted me about writing lyrics and singing on some of his stuff. I just loved the riffs he came up with. so it didn't take long to get him my tracks. He didn't mention it at first, but I secretly hoped it was for Beltfed Weapon, and my wish came true. I hope to do much more with Frank and the gang in the future." - Tim Aymar
"When the world went nuts in 2019, I moved to the country and started farming to focus on sustainability. My guitar player Tim Roth from Into Eternity messaged me and said “Hey Newbs, my good buddy Frank Hetzel is looking for a drummer for his Death/Thrash band and I thought you would be a good fit.” I said “Ok sick I’ll check it out!” I met with Frank online and we clicked instantly, super easy going guy with a plethora of INSANE riffs! As soon as I heard the music I was hooked. Shortly after that I had my Engineer JB at Divergent Sounds Studios come to my farm and record me in my basement. Three hours later, we finished tracking drums for the brand new BELTFED WEAPON album! I am super stoked on these tracks and so thankful to be on a record with Frank, Jeff Loomis and JD DeServio to name a few! Get ready to have your ears blown away! WATCH IT GO!" - NEWBS
"After knowing Frank for many years, we finally sat down and wrote a song together and I’m stoked that it’s making it onto the new Beltfed Weapon EP. “Head first into hell” was lots of fun and pretty easy to put together. I admire Frank’s ability to assemble all the people, music and visual concept to drive his idea forward. The result is powerful and bone crushing metal and I’m honored to be a part of it." - Dagna Silesia
"My buddy Andy Beech put Frank in touch with me! The tune is ripping! It’s my first thrash bass track I ever recorded and I dig it!!
