Hällas (/ˈhɛlɑːs/[1]) are a Swedish progressive rock band formed in 2011 in Jönköping, Småland, by Jesper Nodbrant, Tommy Alexandersson and Kasper Eriksson.
The band is named after the main character of the stories they tell in their lyrics; Hällas is a knight living in parallel, medieval universe in which "religion similarly, albeit not necessarily the ones we recognize from here, are very prevalent and where treacherous tyrants reign lands on the verge of the apocalypse and where seers have gained so much strength that they can dictate the future and the past".
[3] The band was founded in 2011 in Jönköping, Småland, by bassist/vocalist Tommy Alexandersson, drummer Kasper Eriksson and a guitarist as a blues rock trio, but they soon started to incorporate elements of 1980s heavy metal and to adopt a more progressive approach to songwriting.
[4] After the EP, they toured extensively and started preparing their debut full-length album Excerpts from a Future Past, a conceptual one.
[4][5][8][3][2][6] They cite 1970s progressive rock bands as influences, namely Genesis, Uriah Heep, Cherry Five, Wishbone Ash, Camel, Nektar, Rush, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and Kebnekajse.