Rumors Of Betrayal's J.R. Helie Tells No Rumors!

Metal hardcore act Rumors of Betrayal took sometime to discuss their song "The Vacant" as well as the details about their full-length album. Guitarist J.R. Helie discusses these matters.


1. What type of band are you and where are you guys from?

J.R.: We are a Metal Band from Claremont, NH.

2. How did the band come together and where does the name come from?

J.R.: I started the band back in January of 2009 with our original vocalist Joey Marsh and some friends we knew around Claremont. The name Rumors of Betrayal came from our original vocalist Joey back in 2009. We honestly cant remember how he came up with it or the meaning behind it. That sounds pretty bad lol.

3. "The Vacant" comes off your upcoming full-length, can you tell me about this song?

J.R.: Lyrically "The Vacant" has a lot to do with corruption of the leaders of our world and our country and us, the people standing for what we believe.

4. Why did you want to pick this song out of all the others for everyone to hear first.

J.R.: We picked "The Vacant" to release first because it really shows our change in sound musically. We also thought it was a great way for people to hear our new vocalist Bobby and how great of a job he has done with this song.

5. Where are you in the process of your full-length album?

J.R.: We are about half way done with the full length I'd say. Its taken us a while. We are all really busy with work. We are going to record two new songs in mid April with Connor Hayes of Project 2 Studios. Connor produced our EP, "Beyond This Point Lies Nothing". We will hopefully have those our by the end of April. That will give us a little more time to finish up writing.

6. Who is producing the album?

J.R.: We have a few producers in mind, we are pricing it out. We have also gone back and forth about tracking the guitars ourselves and then heading to a studio to record drums and vocals. But we are still unsure.

7. Where do you plan to record the album?

J.R.: We will be recording in Southern New Hampshire, as the studios we are looking at are all located in that area. Unless something happens and we get the opportunity to record else where.

8. What label will be releasing the album?

J.R.: No label will be releasing this as of now. But who knows what can happen in the next few months. We will try shopping it around once we've finished it.

9. How would you describe the overall sound of the new album?

J.R.: The full length will definitely be a lot different then our previous EP. Our musical tastes have definitely changed drastically. This album will be a lot heavier. It'll be more progressive as well. Hopefully people that loved our EP will dig our new sound.

10. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began for this album?

J.R.: Well as of right now we are still in the demoing stage of this album. Some goals were just write what we feel. And just take our time with it.

11. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used before?

J.R.: On this album we are using seven string guitars as opposed to six string guitars on our previous EP. Weve added some new gear to our setups. Bobby our vocalist plays piano so we really want to utilize that on the full length.

12. What are your songs about?

J.R.: Lyrically the album will have a lot to do with corruption, war, and just the state that the world is in right now. And our music will compliment that accordingly.

13. Do you write your own songs?

J.R.: We do right all of our own songs.

14. Have you picked a title for the new album?

J.R.: We have not picked a title for the album yet.

15. Will this be a concept album?

J.R.: I'd say this album may be considered a concept album. We will always be a heavy band but we have always just wrote what we felt and not been like "Well this song should sound like this". We all contribute to the writing process so I think that helps us a lot.

16. When can we expect this album to be released?

J.R.: We are really hoping to have the album out by mid-late summer. Maybe earlier if we bust our asses.

17. What are your plans for this year as far as shows and touring is concerned.

J.R.: We took February off to write and demo, and right now we are filling up weekends for the end of March and through the spring. We are planning some week long runs this summer to hopefully hit the midwest and the southern east coast states.

18. Anything else you want to say or add?

J.R.:  We are so excited for everyone to hear these songs and we can not wait to show them to you. Thank you for all of the support! If you need me to fill in the questions sheet you attached I can. So just let me know! Thanks Natalie!