Heltir

Among Rozz Williams’s various side endeavors, Heltir ranked among the least active, emerging chiefly as a solo outlet for the onetime Christian Death frontman. The project allowed Williams to explore spoken-word poetry, sampled loops, sound collages, and the harsher, more experimental edges of industrial music. Following his 1985 departure from Christian Death, Williams juggled multiple simultaneous efforts that included Premature Ejaculation and Shadow Project, yet Heltir surfaced only sporadically after its 1987 launch in San Francisco. Early on, Williams appeared alone as Heltir, typically stationed behind a mixing console, and issued three cassette-only recordings on Happiest Tapes on Earth, the label run by Premature Ejaculation colleague Chuck Collison. When he eventually prepared Heltir’s first widely distributed album, Williams altered his method by incorporating additional vocals and enlisting outside musicians, foremost among them Ace Farren Ford. Issued by Triple X in 1995, Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) also included harpist Aaron Schwartz and percussionist Christian Omar Madrigal Izzo, while drawing on an eclectic range of samples, including world-music elements, alongside Williams’s own multi-instrumental improvisations. He maintained occasional Heltir performances until his suicide on April 1, 1998.