The Burning Hell have warmed to Slovakia

There is one place in particular that the Canadian musicians have a soft spot for.

The Burning Hell will perform in Bratislava and in Banská Štiavnica. The Burning Hell will perform in Bratislava and in Banská Štiavnica. (Source: Courtesy by The Burning Hell)

Tell friends you are going to see a band named The Burning Hell, whose most popular song is called F*ck The Government, and you can see in their eyes what they are expecting. Maybe an angry punk band or some thrash metal outfit. Well they couldn’t be further from the truth. Canadian band The Burning Hell have so far released nine albums of songs full of intelligence, wit and charm.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

What started out as the name of a songwriting project for ethnomusicologist Mathias Kom, developed into a band, as the need arose to tour and record the songs. Kom spoke to The Slovak Spectator in advance of their upcoming European tour. So how would he characterise their music?

SkryťTurn off ads

Lyrics take central stage

“The lazy answer is just to say that it’s folk music,” Kom said. “Louis Armstrong said ‘All music is folk music. I ain’t never seen a horse playing a trombone.’ I’ve always loved that. They are story songs, the lyrics are the central feature and to me, that’s what makes it folk music, so it can sound different from album to album. It could be leaning towards more of an acoustic interpretation or we’ve done a lot of rock songs. But the lyrics take centre stage no matter what.”

Kom is joined in the band by partner Ariel Sharratt, who plays bass clarinet or drums, and Darren Browne on bouzouki or bass. Although the size of the group has varied over the years, Kom finds the current set-up the best.

“We can do a rock show with Ariel on drums and Darren on bass, or we can play an unplugged show with bass clarinet and bouzouki, or we can switch it up. I love being that dynamic.”

SkryťTurn off ads

Slovak audiences are very receptive

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

Ernst Willers – Greek Sea, after 1870, Ernest Zmeták Art Gallery in Nové Zámky, GNZ

Weekend: A trip to the sea...in art

Bodies of water in art, summer markets and foreign movie nights. Here's what to do for the weekend of June 9 -11.


9. jun
Vrakuňa’s citizens presented apples washed in water with leaked toxins at the protest in 2016.

Chemical time bomb in Bratislava’s Vrakuňa keeps ticking

The state is failing to solve leaking chemical waste dump.


31. may
Jupiter (centre) and its Galilean moons: from left Ganymede, Io, Europa and Callisto. Juice with deployed antennas and arrays is in the bottom right.

From Košice to Ganymede: Slovak engineers are leaving their mark in space

Slovaks are active participants in two ongoing space missions.


20. may
The future of safer abortion in Slovakia is still unknown.

News digest: Health minister ponders politically fraught abortion pill decision

Summer in Bratislava, the future of stores, and the general prosecutor objects to a sentencing decision.


9. jun
SkryťClose ad