Review Summary: Pretty sold release from a up and comming Long Island HC band.
Hailing from Long Island, New York is one of the freshest HC bands on the scene. After years of touring and landing a spot on Sounds Of The Underground ’07, This Is Hell step up and let everyone know that they are a force to be reckoned with.
Years ago when This Is Hell were just blooming, they decided to release a four song demo. On this demo alone they toured not just the US, but even parts of Europe. On just a four song demo. They knew it, their fans knew it… these guys were made to put on a show. And after seeing them four times I know that their live show is insane. And most of the energy isn’t in the crowd. It’s the band themselves. You’ll often see guitarist Rick Jimenez leaping a couple feet in the hair hitting a bone crushing power chord. You’ll see vocalist Travis Reilly (formerly of Scraps And Heart Attacks) jumping into the crowd during a chant. Hell drummer Dan Bourke will often flip his drumsticks around while singing along. But although their live show is amazing. There is still one more thing to talk about… THE MUSIC.
Spine snapping power chords, the snare getting the crap kicked out of it by a drumstick, and intensely emotional vocals. You like these things, continue reading. If you don’t, you might as well start bashing now. Cause this what you’re going to get. “Sundowning,” is a record that has while no significant meaning, is a great listen, is easy to sing along to, and kind of makes you want to see This Is Hell live. The record starts off with the “two part” opener
Retrospect and
Prelude (Again). Now the reason why I call this “two part,” is not only cause they lead into each other fluently, is because whenever you will see them play Retrospect live, they are GOING to play Prelude (Again) right after. Retrospect starts off with some guitar feedback, hits a few chords and then Travis’ vocals come in screaming “If ever we were innocent/That time that came and went/Looking back we’ll hang our heads and say ‘All things change!’” It is a great opening lyrics that prepares you for what will lie ahead, because the lyrics in Prelude (Again) are fantastic. Right before the breakdown Reilly screams, “Kiss the ground goodbye for a while/Fare thee well everything we knew/We’re trading in our lives for a song/And hoping beyond hope that it’ll see us through.”
Permanence has a instrumental introduction to it. With some soft(er) guitars and for once a steady drum beat, it gives you some time to warm up. Because at 0:42 everything is back where it was and the relentless punk comes and hits you right in the face. This song features some great energy, a sing along chant in the end, and is even a little melodic at times. Permanence is a great live song, and one of the best songs on the album.
The Polygraph Cheaters which is the first single off of the album, is energy at 100 percent. Some even more smaller chants in this song to have a lot of fun with at a live show. At first listen it is easy to tell why this song is the first single. A great guitar riff hooks you into the song and does not let you go. Truly a great song, and is most definitely a song to be remembered by This Is Hell. The song
Broken Teeth which is a tribute to the comic book series “The Walking Deaad,” is a fan favorite. A drum roll leads you into the song, and a few crushing power chords welcome you. Reilly comes in screaming: “We named this vessel ‘hope’ in spite of fate/But it’s taking on water, at an alarming rate.” A very catchy song with some great sing along punk chants, and heavy guitars make this song very memorable.
A few weak spots in the albums including to interludes entitled
4/8/05 and
8/27/05 which are light instrumental pieces. Although it does give a softer feel to the album they seem very out of place, and seem to take away from the overall feeling of the rest of the album. Also there are very few breakdowns, and while some of you may think I’m just picky, it’s a HC album and there should be a decent amount of breakdowns instead of just 4 on the whole record. And also, although the power chords sound great there needs to be a little more instrumental variety on the record, and I hope they add some more on their next release. It are minor weak points such as these that take away from the albums potential.
3.5 / 5
Recommended Tracks:
Retrospect
Prelude (Again)
Permanence
The Polygraph Cheaters
Broken Teeth
PROs
Catchy sing alongs
Crushing guitar riffs
Great vocals
CONs
Not enough breakdowns
Two instrumental pieces bring it down
A little more instrumental variety needed.
