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Hellhole

Hellhole [7 inch] (2007)
Off the Books

Reviewer Rating:

Contributed by: DarrenMcLeod
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on January 22nd 2008

Hellhole is that hardcore band. You know, that local band that is a lot of fun to see live in a sweaty pit, but when you listen to a recording, you cannot for the life of you tell it apart from any other run-of-the-mill hardcore band. You know the band I’m talking about?

Hellhole does have a few things going for them. They have a nice old-school hardcore sound, good gritty production, and are also competent enough vocally and musically, even if their lyrics are usually cringeworthy ("People are shit / and I don’t want to deal with it"). But ultimately, though they do change the tempo up slightly from song to song, the songs on the disc still blend into one another. The band also just sounds generic, not doing anything to distinguish themselves from any other hardcore band.

Though Hellhole’s 7” is a decent entry into the hardcore arena, it never really captures the listener and delivers anything exceptional or novel. Though it closes on a high note with the strong track “Cold Stares,” the previous 7 minutes of music offer little incentive to throw it on again.

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boringchris (January 25, 2008)

i'm in this band and i'm fine with the review. we're just 5 friends who set out to play some fast, pissed off punk hardcore together and made a record. the one song you mention (cold stares) happens to be our collectively least-favorite song we've ever written (it has much more of a late 90's hardcore feel than an 80s punk/hc feel), which just shows that we have different taste than the reviewer, and thats fine. everyone has different taste. i'm extremely happy with the record we put out.

i don't think that 1 commenter knows us, because i dont think anyone we're friends with would call us "hard."

R3vengeTherapy (January 24, 2008)

The review is perfectly fine. That guy's just pissed because it probably IS his friend's band. I know I've never heard of these guys, and probably never will again.

DarrenMcLeod (January 24, 2008)

ugh.

i wrote a short review of an 8 minute hardcore 7", and I honestly didn't have much else to say. is it poorly written? probably. but i am a student who does this in his spare time, and i don't know what you were expecting. you want me to wax poetic in iambic pentameter about a record i didn't really enjoy? I was honest throughout the review, gave both positive and negative feedback, was quite fair with everything, and I'm not sure much else is expected of a reviewer.

sorry about insulting your friend's band/your band.

FUNNYMAN5000 (January 23, 2008)

maybe the profits made from the selling of this record should go towards the reviewer's review writing classes. then maybe he/she will write us something worth reading. don't quit your day job.

band's hard.

etwiels88 (January 22, 2008)

Cover art rules so hard

dougkatz (January 22, 2008)

review #6969