Though Hellamatic has only officially existed since early 2006, the groundwork for the band was laid way back in late 1998 with the formation of DOWNSIDE. This precursor to the Hellamatic we all know and love also consisted of Kelsey on guitar and Parker on drums, as well as two more members, Ken and Kuu, who handled vocal and bass duties respectively. The band eventually went their separate ways, but Parker and Kelsey continued to jam on a regular basis and worked at refining their musical talents. Numerous musicians were auditioned in this time frame, and although a suitable singer was never found, the boys began jamming with bassist Shaun, and their next band, LYNCHPIN, was formed. A highlight of the Lynchpin sessions was an agressive death-metal inspired song titled "Chainsaw Lobotomy," which was eventually dusted off and polished up years later to form the very first Hellamatic song. Lynchpin eventually ceased to be, though once again, Kelsey and Parker returned to the practice space to continue writing new material together. Over the next several years even more musicians tried out, but none stuck around on a permanent basis. Finally in mid 2005, the boys used the age old approach of "ef it, we'll do it ourselves," and began writing new material again, this time heading in a much different, albeit still brutally heavy direction. The name of the band was chosen, and the decision was made to set up a PC-based recording system and self-produce an album. Recording began in late 2005 with Parker on drums, and Kelsey handling guitar, bass, and synth detail. This do-it-yourself attitude has allowed Hellamatic to finally record the album that had been eight years in the making, and the boys are now poised for the release of this masterpiece before the end of 2006. Hellamatic uses and abuses: Pearl custom MMX drums, Sabian cymbals, Samson Audio Mics, Shure SM57 Mics, Behringer Mixer, Krankenstien amps and cabs, Dean guitars, Gibson guitars, Paul Reed Smith guitars, EMG pickups, Shure mics, Roland guitar synths, Roland V-drums.