Bristol rockers Adam and the Hellcats offer up an energy-packed, riotous rock’n’roll sound that they describe as “catchy, uplifting and exciting.”
The six piece band was founded by frontman Adam Feasey (lead vocals and lead guitar), who shares vocal duties with the formidable Cirwen Costa. Their sound is given a distinctive edge by keytar player Steve Long alongside Zak Mitchell (guitar), Eddie Mole (bass) and Tony Feasey (drums).
And on the sound they’ve crafted, Adam told us: “I would call it rock’n’roll that will stick in your head so deep for days after listening to it that you’ll probably curse our names. Hopefully, while on your way to see us live!”
Our latest taste of this is Go Easy, which is one of the more emotional songs they’ve written but retains their distinctive rocky edge. It opens up with a light jaunty guitar lick over piercing strings supporting Adam’s lyrics “It’s been too long my friend, I wish we’d talked before the end, I’ll forever miss your smile, I wish I could have seen it for a longer while, Life took us our separate ways, I wish we could have shared just one more day, So I can finally say, you helped me become who I am today, I should have said this many years ago, But I’ll say it now, Go easy my friend.”
The funky little lick returns and drops into heavier, faster-paced vocals with drums creeping in. Heavier guitars kick in for a big chorus “Go easy my friend, You are loved by all till the end of time, Go easy my friend, I can’t say it in speech but i’ll say it in a rhyme, The world is darker without you around, But all those who loved you know your looking down, Go easy my friend, Go easy,” which gives way to a lively guitar solo. That gives way to dual vocals in a more intense chorus, then a driving guitar riff supports heavier vocals as the song comes to a lively conclusion.
On the track, Adam said: “I wrote it right after finding out my best friend from my college days had passed away, and it was basically all the things I wish I’d said to her, but life had taken us our separate ways, and we hadn’t spoken in a long time. Funny fact about the final version of the song is that the lead vocal and lead guitar that you hear is actually straight from the demo version recorded the same night I found out that my friend had passed, so it really is the most emotion-filled version of the song you could ever hear!”
Go Easy comes from the band’s third album 9 Lives, which will be released on 3 October. The album is packed with energetic rock bangers, including the lively opener Light Up, the anthemic Another sad song and potentially a personal favourite Made In Bristol, Fuck You Brain, which winds into a vicious cacophony, and heavy concluding track End of the World.
On the album, Adam told us: “Well, to those who already know us, they should expect the same fun, energetic band you’ve always known, but with a much more mature sound in the songwriting. For the uninitiated, you can expect fun, catchy rock’n’roll where you won’t fully know what you’re gonna get from song to song. After 2 years of working on the album, we’re just excited for people to hear it as a whole. It’s easily our best work. That’s not just coming from my own opinion, it’s coming from the responses the songs have gotten whenever we’ve played them live. Honestly, it’s been quite overwhelming, but in the best way possible.”
The Adam and the Hellcats sound has been moulded by the likes of Status Quo, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Saxon, Girlschool and The Wildhearts, as well as discovering great new British bands all the time.
And on what inspires them to write music, Adam said: “Honestly, it can be anything. Anything that makes us feel something, or just something that makes a good lyric, but we always serve the song first. We may have loads we want to say, but sometimes less is more.”
Adam and the Hellcats’ third album 9 Lives will be released on Friday, 3 October. They’ll be celebrating the release with a hometown show at The Thunderbolt the same night with support from Fugitive and Blufin – tickets are only £5 and are available here.
And Adam added: “The best thing to do is listen to the new album and the two that came before -Sharpened Claws (CLAWS OUT), 2021, and Catalst, 2023 – so you know the songs. But then come see us live, come meet us, because that’s our favourite part of this. Some of the people we met just through them listening to the music and coming to the shows are now some of our best friends. We hope we’ll see some of you soon!”
You can follow Adam and the Hellcats on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
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