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We introduced Cleveland’s THE HELL back in 2022 with a 4 song promo tape and $1,000 digital download. For those who weren’t able to scrounge up the money (Nerds), we are now here to put your wallets at ease and to present you with the debut US pressing of their Self-Titled 12”. THE HELL showcases 10 searing tracks of classic 80’s inspired Midwest hardcore punk at its best. Each track is spewing with catchy and driving guitar riffs that takes influence more from the punk world, while the drums keep things hardcore and pummeling. Clever tempo changes keeps things interesting, leaving you constantly on your tiptoes. The catchiest element of the mix is the vocals, which have a unique phrasing style that gives a cool push-pull feeling, adding a lot to the overall intensity of each track. Each record comes in a standard gloss glue pocket jacket illustrated by the one and only Keith Caves. For all the European folks interested in snagging this punk necessity, Drunken Sailor will be handling a pressing in your realm.
Our take: “This one goes out to the bad boys” is inscribed at the bottom of the insert for the Hell’s debut LP on Not for the Weak Records. It’s the only information aside from the lyrics on the record’s layout, but it says what you need to know about this group from Cleveland, Ohio (the bad boy’s natural habitat). While the Hell plays at hardcore tempos, they remind me more of a nasty, Dead Boys-inspired punk band, with snot-crusted vocals and riffs that strut like a dirtbag gakked to the gills. A stark contrast to the militaristic and ritualistic intensity of hardcore descended from the Minor Threat branch of the family tree, this makes me think of New Jersey’s the Worst, Boston’s Vile, the Dwarves circa Blood, Guts & Pussy… bands that sounded like hardcore because it annoyed the norms, but if too many hardcore kids liked them, they’d find a way to alienate that audience too. While a true bad boy might take this record as a holy scripture, even a dweeb like me can thrash to the Hell… I just probably won’t invite them to stay at my place after the gig.
Our take: “This one goes out to the bad boys” is inscribed at the bottom of the insert for the Hell’s debut LP on Not for the Weak Records. It’s the only information aside from the lyrics on the record’s layout, but it says what you need to know about this group from Cleveland, Ohio (the bad boy’s natural habitat). While the Hell plays at hardcore tempos, they remind me more of a nasty, Dead Boys-inspired punk band, with snot-crusted vocals and riffs that strut like a dirtbag gakked to the gills. A stark contrast to the militaristic and ritualistic intensity of hardcore descended from the Minor Threat branch of the family tree, this makes me think of New Jersey’s the Worst, Boston’s Vile, the Dwarves circa Blood, Guts & Pussy… bands that sounded like hardcore because it annoyed the norms, but if too many hardcore kids liked them, they’d find a way to alienate that audience too. While a true bad boy might take this record as a holy scripture, even a dweeb like me can thrash to the Hell… I just probably won’t invite them to stay at my place after the gig.