We’re back with Cairo’s Hëllridër, who we first spoke to when they dropped their debut single ‘Speed, Booze, and Rock N Roll‘ back in 2021. Since then, the band has expanded from a two-piece to a four-piece and spent two years crafting their debut full-length Rise of The Menace, which dropped in July 2025. The album sees them pushing their black speed punk sound even further, tackling everything from satirical topics to serious political commentary while refusing to be pinned down as just another black ‘n’ roll or garage punk band. With the full-length now out and making waves in the Egyptian metal scene, we caught up with the band to talk about the evolution of their sound, the recording process, and what it means to make politically charged music from Cairo.
- Welcome back! You finally have an album out and it took two years to write and record. What was the biggest challenge during that process?
The biggest factor was the trial and error when it came to the technical part,we tried several recording methods and ideas until some ideas worked and the others didn’t.
- You’ve said you wanted to avoid sounding like a typical black ‘n’ roll band or garage punk band. How did you find that balance between all the different elements?
We explored more sounds, we tried not to sound monotonous, however spontaneous, we didn’t force the songwriting process, we had a vast spectrum of classic hardcore, D-beat, crust punk, speed metal and black metal sounds to experiment, and according to each track we fused these elements together according to the general vibe of teach and every track, we even experimented the slower forms of punk (sludge) we do also like and influenced by in one of our most recent demos.
- Tracks like “Demise of Mankind” and “Resist (The Apartheid)” tackle heavy political topics. Was it important for you to use the punk element of your sound to make those statements? And how does being in a 3rd world country impact your creative process or perspective as you tackle those songs?
I think nobody can discuss 3rd world cases better than people living in a 3rd world country. I think being in a 3rd world country is an inspiration to write down more lyrics .
It is a fuel to our music and to discuss critical issues like capitalism, apartheid, colonialism, oppression…..etc and I even think it’s time for more punk bands to rise, it’s the best time, all you need is absolutely D.I.Y to express your anger vulgarly without filters.
- You covered ‘Slaughter – Incinerator’ to close the album. Why that track specifically, and what made you change your mind from your first choice?
The tabs were all over internet if compared to Tank-Honour & Blood, plus it was a different genre, same punk influences and an influential band that we all liked so it ticked all boxes.
There’s a set of textbook covers that I was eager to avoid. Bathory, Venom, Hellhammer…etc so we wanted to find out how this track would sound like if we played it in a black punk style and we enjoyed it.
- The Hëllridër character, the hyena-human hybrid biker, seems central to your identity. Where did that mascot come from and what does it represent?
I wanted to stay away from hounds, wolves ,wild bores & leopards they are used by so many artists like Motorhead, Jon Mikl Thor, Tank, Tygers Of Pan Tang….etc ,so the hyena was somehow appealing to me since it embodies chaos. savagery and relentlessness ,it’s the perfect match to our identity musically so it even added to the band visually.
- The album has this mix of satirical tracks like “Local Booze Sucks” alongside serious political commentary. Some people would consider that as a negative and say that the band or album lacks focus. What do you have to say to these people?
We are not a political band, we write down lyrics spontaneously, so we tackle serious issues when it suits us and we are satirical also when it suits us, we want to express the human condition after all.
- What’s the Egyptian metal scene like right now, and how has the response been to Rise of The Menace?
I never expected the positive reviews and how people embraced the lo-fi vibes, some people of course never digest raw stuff because they were exposed to processed production for long time so they forgot how rock ‘n’ roll sounded like, totally rough, tough and D.I.Y and it’s time to remind them how rock’n’roll was forged back in the 80s.
- Ahmed handled mixing, mastering, and even played lead guitar on the first track on top of bass. What was that process like?
Ahmed added slick lead work to the first track,the re-recording of “Speed, Booze & Rock ‘n’ Roll” and of course we needed his distorted low end sound, we wanted a distinctive one, not just some couple of clean sounding root notes.
Ahmed did a good job mixing and mastering the album although it was his first time and everyone praised his work technical wise, Ahmed was one hell of an addition to this crew.
- What’s next for Hëllridër? Are you planning to play these songs live, or are you already working on new material?
Of course we plan to perform live, we also have plans to release new material, especially after we signed to a recording label, so stay tuned.
Thank you for taking the time to talk with us again. It’s been great watching Hëllridër evolve from that first single to a full-length that really solidifies your sound. Be sure to check out Rise of The Menace on BandCamp and Youtube. Cheers!
