HELLER (YUG/SER)

Heavy metal in the former Yugoslavia region has never received the best treatment, but in the mid-1980s, the "zero" generation was growing up in Belgrade. Serbian metallers, which with its modern sound and urban approach quickly attracted hordes of followers. The trio Demoniac, Bloodbath and Heller were the most frequently mentioned names of that time, although we must emphasize that Heller was still the first.

After garage rehearsals, the band played its first concert in 1984, and at that moment we can declare the birth of the Serbian underground metal scene. Led by a furious guitarist, singer and leader Attila Milojković, they offered a very radical variant of thrash metal with an urban orientation, impeccable "stage" performance, memorable visualization and a clear attitude.

The original quartet consisted of Attila, Kole (later in Rapid Force), Muller and Vaske who was soon replaced by Zoran. Heller instantly gained a cult fan following, which followed them wherever they performed, from the Belgrade "Dadova" to Sarajevo, Zagreb and Ljubljana, where they played as the opening act for the legendary German thrash band Destruction.

Attila felt at one point that perhaps they needed to be more "commercial", and to "tone down" their radical thrash approach. For this purpose, a singer was brought in and "asked" to sing a little "softer", Attila concentrates on guitar duties and in 1988 a new Heller is born in his the most famous line-up: Attila, Muller, Čvora, Dane and Žmegi. The band recorded their debut with this line-up.

The LP that would be released in 1989 on the underground label Ghost House from Odžak, which was led by Sima Rebić. But due to poor distribution, the album was sold in small quantities, so today that LP is still fetches a high price second hand.

Heller had a great desire and a lot of motives, but they gradually "burned out", failing to gain public attention and journalists to write about them and other necessary support to succeed.

Due to the non-musical events in this region in the late 80s, their career gradually faded away, and they only had a short-lived flash during the first half of the 90s with the release of demo recordings (released on cassette for TIOLI). They briefly announced the possibility of a "revival". However, wars, inflation and the general gloom that ruled Serbia in 1992-1993 prevented them from completing this.

In 1993, the band held its last concert in Belgrade's Dom omladine, thus closing a bright page in the history of Serbian metal. Heller were the first in many ways, and even those who might have preferred Bloodbath, Demoniac or later Rapid Force, must agree that none of the aforementioned bands radiated such an amount of unbridled energy on the concert stage as the guys from Heller. However, as you will hear, the songs from this album have completely stood the test of time.

/ By Branimir Lokner & Branko Rogosic (Translated to English by me)