Hell were viewed as an important underground band in the Eighties, but when the label they had signed to folded two weeks before they were due to record their full-length debut, singer Dave Halliday committed suicide. The band stopped, and no-one ever expected to hear any more from them, but their name had been kept in the public domain, most notably by guitarist/ producer Andy Sneap. In 2011 he and David Bower (vocals) joined original members Kev Bower (guitar and keys), Tony Speakman (bass) and Tim Bowler (drums) to record the debut album at last. There was a very positive response to the outcome (and it reached #46 in the German charts) but no-one was sure if it was just a one-off or if there would ever be more material. Well, the guys have been touring a great deal and the feeling is that Hell were once again a band, as opposed to a project, so back into the studio they went. The new album is comprised of 50% old material, and 50% new, but it isn’t possible to state which is which as it is a complete piece of work. Andy has built a reputation over the years as a producer, and along with Colin Richardson is one of the ones that I personally rate most highly in this field, so I knew what the sound was going to be punchy and powerful, but what about the music?
Hell were a band that passed me by first time around, so I am hearing all this material for the first time, and really the only thing to do with an album like this is just put it on repeat and keep playing it, as it is simply awesome. Imagine a slightly more commercial version of Iron Maiden combined with some of the heavier elements of Uriah Heep and you may just get close to what these guys are like, but of course don’t forget the vocals of Davis Bower who has been paying a lot of attention to classic Raven as well. The first time I played this I burst out laughing during the song “The Age of Nefarious” as there is a direct musical steal from the classic 5th Dimension “Age of Aquarius” in the chorus, just the one line but I wonder how many of people younger than me will get it? In many ways it sums up the album for me as there is the impression of five guys out there not only paying respect to what they did before but creating something that is brand new and incredibly powerful while having fun doing so.
There have been some incredible metal albums released during 2013, but this is one of the finest.
