Brotherhood
about Hauk

Hauk is:
Hauk: Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Duke Dubeau: Keyboards, Vocals
Chris Dooly: Drums, Percussion
Karin Dell: Violin

The soft wail of Uillean pipes flow across the gentle hills, as dawn rises on a quiet land. Slowly in the distance, louder and louder, draw the sounds of approaching war. Screams of fear, cries of pain, and the spear is cast. “Odin!” cries the brotherhood…

No Prisoners, No Surrender, No Mercy, Not Now, Not Ever…

Hauk returns with their epic 7th album, “Anthems for an Age Arriving,” eternally defying genre and pigeon holing to create music that shakes the very core of the listener. Due out in late 2011 on Baldur Rising Music, this album is not to be missed.

The roots of the band 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,” says frontman Hauk.

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 the bands 3rd album No Mercy for the Slain 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.”

The band performed regularly as a four piece, releasing the 4 song EP To Hear the Trumpets Call and then beginning work on a half acoustic, half electric follow up entitled The Path of Ice. It was during the recording of The Path of Ice that front man Hauk relocated to the east coast. “I needed to try something new, and I had a few production opportunities out there that I wanted to pursue.”

Hauk released The Path of Ice on a digital only format, ignoring the traditional method of CD replication and aiming to corner the market on digital downloads. This was followed soon by an unexpected solo acoustic album Baconic. “I had recorded a few tracks with Techno, the producer for NMFTS, and had also recorded a few acoustic tracks at my own studio. All of them were finished at the same time, and it felt nice to just release a bonus album for the fans.”

While on the east coast, Hauk formally launched his own record label, Baldur Rising Music (baldurrisingmusic.com) and produced and released Winter Wassail by the group Skaldic Hearth Kin. Again, receiving critical acclaim from the Heathen Community, “Wassail Songs” further proved Hauk’s ability to achieve any musical goal he set out to do.

However, Hauk soon grew tired of the east coast and returned west, reuniting with Chris and Duke. Boyd was unavailable to play with the band anymore, focusing on his college career, so they were joined by Dave Watson, a guitar veteran of metal luminaries Hirax and Deathriders, and by Karin Dell, a violinist who was once admitted to the famed Juilliard School of Music.

As a five piece, the band played to packed houses in LA, Phoenix, Reno, and Las Vegas, cementing their hold on the American South West. The touring schedule, while spiritually uplifting, left it’s mark on the band and Dave was forced to leave as his health worsened.

The band carries on as a four piece, living up to their anthemic battle cry “No Prisoners, No Surrender…” The thundering drums of Chris Dooly, the searing siren song of Karin Dell’s violin, the epic keyboards of Duke Dubeau, and the Odinic howl of front man Hauk all combine for an unforgettable Heathen Metal Experience.