Interview + EP Review: BELLHEAD - Threats
- Canis Lewis
- Apr 2
- 8 min read
You in the mood for a thriller? Some horror, or some macabre mind twisting? How about a furiously good dance heavy remix you weren't expecting. BELLHEAD return in top form with some grizzly tracks of signature sounds dark rock goodness.
Check out our previous articles about BELLHEAD HERE
Chicago’s BELLHEAD have just announced one of the most highly anticipated releases of 2025 as ‘Threats’ will be available beginning April 8th on CD, Digital Download, and Streaming on all major platforms. The first single and title track “Threats” can be heard on March 10th via Bandcamp pre-order.
‘Threats’ is the first EP of new material since BELLHEAD released ‘Good Intentions’ in 2023.
Longtime fans will be rewarded for their patience and loyalty to the band, while people new to BELLHEAD will be immediately hooked by this release.
Are there songs about Death? Check.
Songs about Revenge? Yep.
Drowning? You know it.
Heartbreak? Got You Covered!
Femme Fatales, Murder, and Sorrow?
Yes!!!
All the familiar elements that fans have come to expect from BELLHEAD are still there, and yet with this release, the duo has grown in their songwriting, implementing refreshing styles and approaches to their storytelling.
Gone is their distinctive Black and White branding, having been replaced by vibrant yellow. The Anachronistic artwork of the previous releases, now issues a harsh warning along with a full color photo. Ivan Russia and Karen Righeimer-Schock let you finally see who exactly is making good on these “Threats”
Engineered by Neil Strauch and mastered by Carl Saff, the EP which will be released via Oppressive Sky Records includes five new songs alongside two remixes. Darkwave’s rising stars Clubdrugs provide a hallucinogenic fueled trip through a Haunted Mansion on the remixed “Heart Shaped Hole”, while Stabbing Westward’s Chris Hall provides additional vocals on the remixed “Bad Taste” that gives it a club filling stomp one does not often associate with BELLHEAD, leaving you with your fists pumping and feet moving.
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Interview
Q. Threats implies a sense of danger or warning. Do you see this EP as a statement, a challenge, or something else?
It is a Threat. A promise with malice. This isn’t a band, it’s a gang. This isn’t a bass, it’s a machine gun. These aren’t words, these are promissory notes we are making good on. This is the warning. There is danger and it’s name is BELLHEAD.
Q. With Clubdrugs and Chris Hall of Stabbing Westward joining the EP for some remixes, how did these remixes come about, and what do you think about hearing BELLHEAD taken in a damn good club track direction with 'Bad Taste'?
We’ve worked with Stabbing Westward previously - Walter Flakus of SW did a remix of “Nothing as it Seems” for us. Fast forward a few years when we were opened for SW and Chris Hall offered his skills remixing as well.
Clubdrugs are good friends we have known for a few years and have played a handful of shows with- so it was a no brainer to have them provide a remix.
Both remixes are a lot of fun and hopefully will get plenty of plays on the dance floor!
Q. The themes in Threats seem to lean heavily into revenge, heartbreak, and even murder - classic BELLHEAD. How do these new songs push the dark concepts you write about - further than previous releases?
Karen said to me “I’m done being nice” and I told her “I was never nice” and with that we took some big swings. We went through personal losses that resulted in emotional outbursts. Mourning has a way of forcing words and songs out of me. The record is not about death. It’s not that one dimensional. Death, she is the progenitor of the work. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance make an appearance or are a motivator in all the songs.
Q. If you could stage the ultimate Threats music video with no worries about cost, what would that look like when finished?
Funny, We filmed a wonderful video for “Threats” and from what I have seen it looks fantastic! If we had fuck you money to spend on it, I don’t know what we would do. We would probably sing the chorus on the top of a cop car. Karen would flip a semi truck on LaSalle Avenue like in the Dark Knight. There would be a car chase. Dancing girls. A carnival. No one should ever give us a blank check. We are very thrifty. We spend money where the money needs to be spent but our crafty way of problem solving is part of how we come up with ideas. I’ve wanted to do “Pepper's Ghost” for a long time. By today’s standards it would be cheaper in post production rather than getting a giant piece of glass to do a visual effect that’s older than film itself. I suppose we would shoot more footage on film. We used film for “Bad Taste” and that was not cheap or easy.
Q. Having travelled and played live so much over the past couple of years, what lessons have you learnt from your recent journeys?
Karen: Separate your clean and dirty clothes in your tour pack, stay hydrated, pack extra batteries, always have a plan B ready, and make time to hit up comic book stores. Ivan: Antiquing is rock n’ roll. We were at an antique store where Alice Cooper bought a sword and used it on stage. They had this picture by the cash wrap and the teenager working couldn’t piece together why I was excited about it.
Q. Anything you'd like to say to your fans?
The love from our fans and friends is unmatched, and we look forward to seeing everyone on the road in 2025.
Stay tuned for more tour dates in 2025!
4/05 The Hook and Ladder - Minneapolis, MN - Fireseek Festival
4/24 Rose Bowl Tavern - Urbana, IL - Bat Factory
4/25 Art Sanctuary - Louisville, KY
4/26 Spectrum Record Lounge - Cape Girardeau, MO w/ Gary Robert and Community
4/27 Sk8bar - Kansas City, MO w/ Cables & Lace / Juliette Frost
5/03 Liar’s Club - Chicago, IL w/ Skatenigs
5/04 Falcon Bowl - Milwaukee, WI w/ Skatenigs / Choke Chain
5/10 Small’s - Hamtramck, MI - Fixation 2025 w/ Assemblage 23 / Ego Likeness / Al1CE / Cyanotic / Mari Kattman / Amaranth
5/30 Chicago Steampunk Expo 2025 w/ Charming Disaster8/09 Healer - Indianapolis, IN w/ Plague Garden / In A Darkened Room / Grave Love / Final Girl / Broken Nails / Waiting for Meteors / Twice Dark
Review
'Threats' starts us off with that Gothic guitar and bass 'horror' sound BELLHEAD are well known for, but as many of you may know, BELLHEAD is far more on the dark rock side of things than the Gothic, yet that familiar undertone is there none the less. The chorus of 'Threats' takes us from a low growled verse to an up-tempo chant of 'If I can't break your heart, then no one will!' which is a surprisingly catchy and unexpected twist in direction before the track slinks back in to the slowly growled verses of macabre lyrics.
She'll make you beg and plead, Make you dance to the gunshots, She whispered me a threat I won't soon forget..
Scorned lovers, tragic romance, toxic abuse, whatever the picture, the threat of life ending violence here is still the same. 'If I can't break your heart, then no one will!' Aggressive in tone but chilled in sonic execution, 'Threats' is a great warm up for this rather dark EP.
Kicking drums and filthy bass opens up 'Heart Shaped Hole'. This track feels more like the old school day of Sister's of Mercy just with a thump-ier guitar. Lyrics in the track speak of expecting a vengeful God to come and take note of the things the protagonist has done, goading them to do so. There's even a tongue in check 'ooh yeaa' used a few times which feels like a parody of evangelical mass, quite the ballsy track! A more chilled yet sinister track awaits in 'Shutters + Stutters' alluding to a curse in the blood, poetically explaining how a person can be disappeared and in a year's time, no one will ask about it anymore or remember. As ever.. this somewhat serial killer sounding vibe is very much on point for BELLHEAD. The track picks up as it progresses into a heavier kick - creating a decent sense of foreboding, and threat.
This dark and slow progressive formula of the previous track continues in 'No Dead Horses' yet with an almost militarised drum fleshing out much of the track. It is deep, chant worthy, and sounds like the theme track set up to a highway dinner death brawl. Having said that, the lyrics give a sense of being abandoned by a family member, and a path of self destruction.
'Double Jeopardy' brings a 'bounce' vibe to the darkness. Karen sings out the chorus breaking up the poetic spoken words of Ivan.
There is a bell sound in the background that I can't help but focus on, but overall the track nicely wraps up the malicious feel to the EP.
NOW.. The track 'Bad Taste' (Stabbing Westward Remix) This is incredibly different altogether! The track is a remix from the 'Good Intentions' EP A cinematic reverb brings your focus fully to the introduction, and the electronics throw out a damn good dance worthy BPM. This is some old school dance EBM style stuff. The lyrics of 'Bad Taste' work so well with the electronic backing and really do bring that messy but catchy goodness reminiscent of old school EBM. Needles to say, I bloody love this track!
Finally we have 'Heart Shaped Hole' (Clubdrugs Remix) This remix takes the track down a darker - cyberpunk alleyway. The contortion of the vocals and original track gives it an interesting sense of intoxication via sound which is an impressive piece of sonic environmental storytelling, whether on purpose, or by accident, it is still a very interesting journey through a darker, deeper soundscape. I particularly love the 'falling' sound at 3:03-3:07
Conclusion
BELLHEAD return once again in peak form with their fierce niche of the darker side of life and musical exploration. I love the way BELLHEAD come up with twisted storytelling in their tracks set amongst the gritty guitars, bass driven undertones, and well thought-out drums.
Though this is the signature sound we've come to expect from BELLHEAD, 'Threats' has a feel of something fresh, something deeper than before that really makes you want to pay close attention. The 'Threats' EP showcases some damn fine and progressive talent from Ivan and Karen, blending the line between genre, media, storytelling, emotion, and foreboding in to songs that make you feel like your experiencing a thriller show or film in a whole new way - just without the screen.
BELLHEAD are definitely on the right path to becoming a far more recognised name and sound across the alternative music scene.
If you're a club DJ, get that Stabbing Westward remix in your playlist!
Thank you!
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