Music Interviews With Tom Hess And The HESS Band

Below you can read music interviews conducted by various music media about the music of the HESS band and Tom Hess. These interviews are organized by eras of the HESS band (Opus 1 Era, Opus 2 Era, etc.) Subjects range from HESS band history, to personal questions, to musical influences, to gear and of course all about the music itself.

The main band members are Tom Hess, Scott Hess, Mike Walsh and Mark Carozza but you will also see references to former members dating back to 1994 including HESS drummer from Opus 1 (Chris Dowgun) and earlier band members Joe LaBanco (Fretfire), Chuck Hamilton (TD Clark, Imperial Rage, Septer) and Dan Massa.

HESS was originally formed in 1994 under the name Gothic Empire, but due to frequent misconceptions that the band was a Goth style band (which it certainly was not) the name was changed to HESS in 1997.

The band's debut album Opus 1 was released April 20, 2000. The (superior) Opus 2 album was released January 4, 2004. In 2004, Tom Hess joined HolyHell, recorded and released the debut EP Apocalypse then toured in North America 2005 and Europe in 2005 and again in 2007. Mike Walsh went on to develop his band Sage4, releasing 2 Eps and 1 full length LP during the years 2005-2009. Due to Tom and Mike's success in other areas of the music business, the HESS band lied somewhat dormant until 2009 when tracks for the band's 3rd full length album had begun to be recorded....