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Hellmouth

Demo '08 (2008)
self-released

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

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

Published on July 11th 2008

Hellmouth sure ain't fuckin' around. Grim visuals of skulls and snakes adorn the insert accompanying this demo, as well as this unfamiliar picture. Dude to the far right looks stoked. If one was to judge the proverbial book by its cover, one might assume based on this evidence that the music of Hellmouth is dark, brooding, aggressive, pissed off, what have you. Truth is, these dudes wear cardigan sweaters onstage and play some of the most jangly indie pop this side of Sub Pop.

Save your scoffs, I'm totally fucking with you.

So maybe Hellmouth are a gang of disenfranchised, bitter dudes from a disenfranchised, bitter place like Detroit. They infuse punk, hardcore and metal to create a sound that could be described as 'organized chaos,' but I'd just describe as 'really fucking good.' Jay Navarro -- he sung for the Suicide Machines, you might've heard of them -- has never sounded so angry and is at times downright demonic in his vocal delivery. And the band assembled around him fits his demeanor like a well-worn pair of jeans.

The opening track is "Praying for Plague," a cute little number that begins with a quick bass solo before descending into a full-bore attack with Navarro growling, "We live like we're already dead!" Don't let my mention of double bass lead you astray -- shit's brutal, but not br00tal, know what I mean? The speed of the music anchored by the drumming is more punk-infused than metalcore-laden, thankfully.

"Oblivion & Utopia" has a cool duality, alternating between quick-as-shit verses and devastatingly heavy bridges in between them -- think High on Fire roughly covering something off Side B of My War and you'd be close. "Overtime in a Shark Cage" lives up to its awesome title, with a breakdown that puts forth a killer groove without overstaying its welcome. And the opening riff of "Blackest of Voids" would've made the late Dimebag Darrell proud. And about that whole demonic vocal approach I mentioned? The last minute or so of "God's Forgotten Children" is mainly what I was alluding to.

With four talented and proficient players seamlessly wetting their beaks in three intense genres of music, there's a lot to get excited about here. Hellmouth have crafted a sound that's raw and dynamic, and hopefully this demo is just a taste of the impending brutality.

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Colder_Than_You (February 14, 2009)

hell of a lot better than hi-fi handgrenades, and one thought moment.

heavy.

navarro is a really nice guy too.

dans a dick.

VictorIkpeba24 (July 17, 2008)

I like this better than Hi-Fi Handgrenades and Left in Ruin.

CBSrocksteady (July 15, 2008)

I'm fucking there!

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sorry. venue change. its not at a house now. its at the IMC, but that is still a very cool place. it will still be a big bag of fun.

telegraphrocks (July 14, 2008)

"a house show in Champaign in August"
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I'm fucking there!

sugarfull (July 14, 2008)

I'm surprised that this got such a good review, it came off as kind of generic and weak to me. I don't see why anyone would rather listen to this than the thrash bands that they listed as their influences.

CBSrocksteady (July 13, 2008)

I really hope for a LOT more from this band in the future (like, how about booking a goddamn house-show in Chicago, aye?).

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they are playing a house show in Champaign in August. Yes you should go.

fallingupwards84 (July 12, 2008)

yea this band's music is pretty good, i was just fucking with you about the name. the tracks sound better if i sit back and pretend they're b-sides to War Profiteering haha

telegraphrocks (July 12, 2008)

True. I would LOVE to see The Suicide Machines just one more time. I really don't like how that ended.

And though not in the "god" status that TSM was in, all their bands now (Hellmouth / Hifi Handgrenades / One Thought Moment) are still pretty good.

fallingupwards84 (July 12, 2008)

dont get me wrong, i loved the Suicide Machines to death... i wish they would solve their differences and get back together b/c the music world needs them right now

fallingupwards84 (July 12, 2008)

so you dont think Hellmouth is trying too hard?

come on, how do you take a band with that kind of a name seriously?

telegraphrocks (July 11, 2008)

"Hellmouth? really?"

----------------------------------------------

MxP x? really?

fallingupwards84 (July 11, 2008)

Hellmouth? really?

telegraphrocks (July 11, 2008)

This album (or demo, whatever) is fucking SIIIIIIIIIICK!

I think the first week I had it, I probably listened to it like 75 fucking times... just kept letting it start back over.

I really hope for a LOT more from this band in the future (like, how about booking a goddamn house-show in Chicago, aye?).

Odd that a demo is gonna end up on my year's end list