Brotherhood
about Hauk

Hauk is:
Hauk: Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Duke Dubeau: Keyboards, vocals
Chris Dooly: Drums, Percussion
Boyd Ervin: Guitar, Bass, Vocals

The soft wail of Uillean pipes flow across the gentle hills, as dawn rises on a quiet land. Slowly in the distance, the grinding chant of “No Mercy” carries, louder and louder. Screams of fear, cries of pain, and the spear is cast. “Odin!” cries the brotherhood…

So begins Hauk’s triumphant third album “No Mercy for the Slain,” a blistering collection of songs spanning everything from love, death, and beyond, while seamlessly destroying all previous notions of genre definition.

No Mercy for the Slain was produced by Gavin Ross, Techno, and the band’s front man Hauk. The album features a stunning array of artists from all walks of the musical world, including drummer Rhino, a member of Holy Hell and formerly of the legendary metal band Manowar, featured on “Baldur Rising;” and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s Allan Vogel – commonly acknowledged to be the world’s greatest oboist – who lends his talent to “Rage for a Dying World.” Odinic, howling vocals combine with relentlessly thrashing guitar, tribal drumming and sweeping orchestral sound, resulting in more of a spiritual journey than a mere album. With No Mercy for the Slain, Hauk has embraced death, shrugged off fear, and has its blades sharpened.

“A lot of the songs on the album are about trying to see outside this world, kind of like Jim Morrison’s – except we didn’t just break on through to the other side, we broke on through, established a beach-head, conquered territory, and claimed it for Odin!” says frontman Hauk. Many of the songs are “shamanic” - prophetic in nature, like apocalyptic visions. But while seemingly dark, the songs are also uplifting. The title track’s encouragement to “die fighting, fight and ye shall rise again” is not as much about violence and death as it is a message to “make the most of the time you have – if you hide in a hole, you’ll waste your time, and not live any longer or gain anything by it.”

The roots of “No Mercy…” began back in 2004, following the demise of legendary Heathen Metal band Mythreal. “My and Chris’s band Mythreal went through some brutal lineup changes, right as my ex and I were splitting. I basically wanted to get out and do something different, so I went into the studio to record a solo acoustic album. More therapy than anything else.”

The resulting “Love Songs, Lamentations, and Lifthrasir” received critical acclaim, with tours up and down the west coast. It was followed by 2006’s “Hard Lemonade,” a mash up of Celtic folk and metal tinged rock. “I had been playing shows with just me and my acoustic guitar, which was fun, but I missed the power of the full band that we had in Mythreal. I gave Chris a call and asked if he wanted to play something really different. He agreed. I also brought in my old friend Duke to play keyboards- we went out as a three piece and just cranked up the volume and loud as we could!”

Recording for “No Mercy…” began a few months after the release of “Hard Lemonade.” “I decided for the third album that I wasn’t going to worry about anything other than recording exactly what I wanted. I went through my entire catalogue of songs and picked all my favorites- the personal ones that meant a lot to me, and the highly spiritual, prophetic anthems. I knew this was going to be epic.”

In between studio sessions, Hauk still toured, continuing to solidify their hold on the west coast. It was on one of these tours that their fate shifted irreversibly. “We were heading up the coast and managed to find a violinist and cellist who were crazy enough to go out on the road with us. Helen, the cellist, calls me a couple days before we were supposed to leave and asks if she can bring her boyfriend Boyd. I said that was fine, as long as he rode on the roof of the van. We were all set to leave when Chris had to leave town for a family emergency. I turned to Boyd and asked if he was a musician of any kind. He said he was a guitarist. I then handed him Chris’s bass drum and told him to keep a steady beat for the concert. It worked so well that I told him to learn a few of our songs on guitar and come to the next practice. It took all of about 10 minutes of playing together to realize that Boyd was the missing link to our sound. He was Slash to my Axl. We promptly got him into the studio to add his touches to “No Mercy…” and never looked back.”

Now playing regularly as a four piece, Hauk, Boyd, Duke, and Chris have unleashed something unique into the musical world. Plans are already in place for a full electric follow up to “No Mercy…” and a possible acoustic album. The spear has been cast, and there is No Mercy for the Slain.

“Odin told me there’s No Mercy for the Slain- die fighting, fight and ye shall rise again…”