"Hellbender" is the title track from KATE'S ACID's self-titled 2026 album.
Out on High Roller Records. Available at https://www.hrrecords.de/KATES-ACID
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The one and only Acid, formed in Bruges in 1980 (and initially called Precious Page), are widely considered to be one of the very first speed metal bands on the European continent. Lead vocalist Kate de Lombaert, guitarists Dirk Simoens (Dizzy Lizzy) and Donald Devers (Demon), bassist Peter (T-Bone) and drummer Geert (Anvill) recorded three highly regarded albums for Giant Records – »Acid« (1983), »Maniac« (also 1983) and »Engine Beast« (1985) – before breaking up sometime in the mid-80s.
In 2019, Kate de Lombaert decided to resurrect the band and eventually got together with Mathieu Trobec (bass), Gilles Reuse (guitar), Andreas Stieglitz (guitar) and Bastiaan Andriessen (drums) under the name of Kate’s Acid.
They appeared live at Keep It True Rising in 2021 and once again at Keep It True in 2023, where a live album was recorded. A year later, »Blowing Your Ears Off« was released on High Roller Records to great critical.
»Hellbender« is the name of the first studio album by the newly formed Kate’s Acid, featuring nine brand-new compositions. The new line-up of the band consists of guitarist Geert Annys, drummer Ash and Camilo (Thunder Screamer) Ortega, from Columbia, who is active in the band Axe Steeler and supplied most of the bass parts, with Kate handling the vocals, of course. The recordings were done in Belgium and Colombia and the mix in Germany (Berlin) in the studio of Jacky Lehmann.
“I wanted to make a new studio album for a very long time, but did not find the right musicians,” comments the legendary singer on the evolution of »Hellbender«. “It was time for me to break the silence. In my opinion, this new album is full of great songs, and I like to share them with old-time fans and new, enthusiastic rockers. To my ears, it still sounds like old-school metal.”
»Hellbender« is indeed full of great songs, like the speedy “The Lightning Conductor”, a biker anthem named “Riding Out” and of course “Do Not Burn The Witch” (naturally, no relation to the Venom tune of the same name on »Black Metal«), making it a natural contender for the legitimate successor to »Maniac«.
And there is also a first on the album, the epic “Air Raid”, kind of a ballad … “Well, for everything there has to be a first time,” laughs the legendary Kate. “So why not a ballad? If you listen to the song, you can almost feel the pain and destruction of what currently happens all over the world.”
MATTHIAS MADER
𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓:
01 Hellbender
02 Taking Back My Wings
03 The Lightning Conductor
04 Riding Out
05 Do Not Burn the Witch
06 Valkyrie
07 Buccaneers
08 Stormchaser
09 Air Raid
Mixed by Jacky Lee Man (audiosound.de)
Mastered by Patrick W. Engel (Temple Of Disharmony)
Cover artwork by Marcio Aranha
Video cutting / Editing by Christos Stergianidis // https://www.facebook.com/CStergianidis
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