After more than five years away from Australian headline stages, Hellions are finally returning – and they’re doing it by revisiting one of the most pivotal records of their career.
The Sydney outfit will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Opera Oblivia on the tour, which kicks off this Thursday (May 7th), bringing the album back into focus a decade after it reshaped their sound. See here for all the details.
Tone Deaf caught up with frontman Matt Gravolin ahead of the tour, to look back on the artists that helped shape the record, unpacking the mix of emo, hardcore, metal, and pop-punk influences that fed into its creation.
My Chemical Romance
Matt Gravolin: We all shared an affinity for My Chemical Romance growing up and they ended up having a particular influence over the guitar parts for this record. Ray Toro’s inclination toward octave chords (sometimes harmonised octave chords) that move like vocal melodies, and guitar solos nodding to Brian May’s [Queen] theatricality became a foundational hallmark of ours, too; our downtuned guitars and heavy-metal leanings gave recontextualisation to these techniques and we’re indebted to MCR for the inspiration. The most direct example of MCR’s influence is heard in the harmonised lead guitar parts in the first pre-chorus of “25” from 0:28.
Trapped Under Ice
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Matt: Trapped Under Ice were one of our foremost heavy influences and our primary hardcore influence (with Sydney’s Phantoms at a close second). I found that much of TUI’s attitude, from a guitar perspective, came not only from their chord choices but from the slides used in their chord transitions.
Metallica were likely the first to bring this kind of playing to fore but I found inspiration in the bounce and flair of TUI’s style, that inspiration is most evident in the “Quality of Life” guitars. TUI’s use of tempo changes were also of interest to me, it felt like every one of those changes were assiduously implemented to great effect. An example of both techniques can be heard on “Disconnect” (track nine on Big Kiss Goodnight) from 1:42.
System of a Down
Matt: My life might’ve taken a different course were it not for the woof of the guitars on SOAD’s Toxicity and the unbridled way that the band blended genres on this record. The breadth of vocal and instrumental expression is a masterclass in creative adaptability; a variety of percussive and stringed instruments are used to bring unique colour combinations to each song.
The band’s political agenda is expressed in a tempo rubato factoid speech in the bridge of “Prison Song”, halfway between speaking and screaming, and their spiritual beliefs and environmental concerns are felt in full on tracks seven, eight, and nine (“Forest”, “ATWA”, “Science”) by way of Pixies-esque heavy light/quiet shade polarity; and so we strived to communicate our beliefs by using as much colour as is beneficial to each song.
SOAD’s influence is felt as Opera Oblivia‘s subconscious but is most evident in the middle-eastern melodicism of “Lotus Eater” and “Bad Way”.
Fireworks
Matt: Fireworks put out Gospel in 2011 and we listened to it constantly for years; it was one of the main influences that saw us singing for the first time on Opera. Fireworks’ frequent use of gang/group singing, although not a new thing in punk-adjacent music, had an endearing sense of togetherness about it that gave us the confidence to employ group singing in our choruses, effectively opening us up to a new world of expression.
Fireworks, lyrically, illustrate their reverence for the deep friendship shared between young men – this is something that resonated with us as a band and as friends, and it remains an important point of honour underlying all decisions pertaining to Hellions, musical or otherwise.
Blink-182
Matt: Blink-182 are an innate and immovable influence over Hellions because they were such a big part of our initial musical inspiration. Anthony looked up to Travis Barker when learning to play the drums and so an element of Travis’ playing and spirit is embedded into the hardware of the band.
The songs of blink were among the first I learned to play on the guitar for my own pleasure and so some of my tendencies are derived from Tom Delonge’s playing on Enema of the State, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket and the band’s self titled record. Though a less direct influence on Dre, any part of a Hellions song that nods toward a blink part delighted him because he appreciated their music growing up, and music is most affecting in your teenage years; powerful enough to change aspects of one’s character. The enduring influence of blink is most apparent in Opera Oblivia‘s closing song “25”.
For complete tour and ticket information, see here.
HELLIONS AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2026
Thursday, May 7th (SOLD OUT)
Max Watts, Melbourne VIC
Friday, May 8th
The Gov, Adelaide SA
Saturday, May 9th
Freo Social, Fremantle WA
Thursday, May 14th
Liberty Hall, Sydney NSW
Friday, May 15th
The Triffid, Brisbane QLD
Saturday, May 16th
Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast QLD
