HELLER

LJUBOMIR 'ATTILA' MILOJKOVIC

Heller from Belgrade, Serbia formed in 1985 and they first appeared on the Beograd Hardcore '86/'87 split. In 1989 they released their only full-length. It was a self-titled beast released through the label Ghost House who also featured another Serbian band called Pergament. Heller's album was real intense and dark record and it's extremely rare these days. It's a pricey item on eBay and it is valued somewhere between 100-200 dollars. Heller managed to release a demo tape in 1993 before disbanding. In 2013 Heller returned and are now looking for a new deal. I have spoken with longtime guitarist Attila Milojkovic.

We can start with a small presentation of Heller.

It is same old Heller from the eighties; Attila on guitar, Čvora on bass, Dane on guitar, vocalist Žmegi and new drummer Hogar. We started to play in 1985 and we published an LP in 1989.

The band first appeared on a split called Beograd Hardcore '86/'87 No. 1, Can you tell us about that release? How many albums was pressed?

I dont remember anything about hardcore 86/87.

Heller (1989)

Your self-titled album "Heller" from 1989 is considered an underground classic, how do you feel about it in retrospect?

It is a nice feeling, to have released a classic or to be the one of the first metal bands in south-east europe or to be considered a legend or something like that.

According to metal-archives.com you have two demotapes (Demo 1988 and demo 1993), did you record any more material back in the days?

Demo 1988, what is that? The Demo from 1993 is official and it was just named “Demo tape” and it was recorded in 1992-1993. For now, our only officially published material are our first LP from 1989 and Demo Tape 1992-93. Right now, We are preparing new songs for our second album. Also, we´re still looking for good publisher for it.

How was the metal scene in Serbia at the time?

Very poor, without any support

Heller (1989)

Was it because of the war that Heller disbanded, or was it other reasons?

When Yugoslavia was broken, many things were broken and so was Heller too.

Guitarist Kosta 'Kole' Bogdanović and vocalist Senad 'Žmegi' Prašović also played in a band called Amnesia, tell us a little about them...

It is not a question for me. You'll have to ask them.

The band reunited in 2013. Was it hard to convince all members of getting back together again? and what made you do a comeback after so many years?

Yes, it was very hard to start after twenty years of silence. Our vision is to play live just like we did back in the eighties. We still have our sound intact from the eighties. We have our old amplifiers, our old guitars and our old ideas and way of doing things.

Will there be another Heller-album?

Yes, but only on vinyl. If we find a good publisher for it.

What bands influenced Heller's sound?

Bands from that period; Slayer, Metallica, Venom and Black Sabbath.