Review Summary: Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers
In a time and era where revival/retro/vintage rock is on the rise, bands like Gehennah are a blessing and the reason is fairly simple. They don’t try to be retro, they’re much more than that; they’re primitive, vulgar, uncivilized and antisocial. They’re the type of neighbor you’d hate to have but love to watch on TV. The Swedes define their music as “street metal” but the reality is that they sound like the long lost bastard child of Motorhead, Venom, Tank and Bulldozer. If one wants to compare them with a modern act it would probably be Midnight, Chapel or the other boys from the Hell’s Headbangers music label.
As a direct result of the above,
Too Loud to Live, Too Drunk to Die hits the listener straight to the balls with a sonic wave of filthy speed metal with definite punk influences and a scent of NWOBHM. The outcome is a highly energetic and fun album that revolves around fast drumming, infectious yet simple guitar riffing, interesting solos and anthemic choruses. The recipe for disaster is similar for every song but with the necessary variations in order to avoid a highly repetitive LP. Take “Scumbag” for example that reeks of ‘80s classic heavy metal, the violent “Gehennah Will Destroy Your Life”, or the rock-‘n’-roll-on-steroids “Let’s Fall off the Wagon” with its “Ace of Spades” guitar riffing. Moreover, “Cause We’re a Street Metal Band” and “Low on Cash, High on Speed’s” riffs bring to mind Metallica’s “Metal Militia”, while the punk infused title track’s chorus will be ingrained on your brain for some time.
When it’s all said and done, where this recording excels is the level of songwriting and the degree of execution. Throughout the 36 minutes it lasts, Gehennah step on the gas and just don’t let go, with very few hiccups. The only element that brings the album a bit down is the lack of originality and “Tonight We Fight” which is not a bad song by any means, but not on par with the rest of the tracks. Finally, as far as Motorhead/Venom worship is concerned, it just doesn’t get better than
Too Loud to Live, Too Drunk to Die. So if you’re a fan of any of those two or just love balls out rock, make sure to check Gehennah.
