Despite having only one short album and a handful of live shows to their name The Hell are already notorious. And, whether it’s an opinion on their secretive members, divisive subject matter or inventive use of social media, you’ll almost certainly have an opinion on them already. The only thing that you may not have made your mind up about yet is the music.
What Groovehammer is, essentially, is a continuation of their debut but with crisper production and fewer of the outrageous ‘LOLs’ that made You’re Listening To The Hell such a surprise success. Yes there are still the Danny Dyer-esque ‘Faaaacking MUG’ lyrics and delivery, particularly in Everybody Dies and Deal With It, which sound like the Mitchell brothers fronting Madball, but it isn’t quite as shocking as when they first arrived on the scene.
What this means is that Groovehammer can be judged much more easily on its musical merits. Which is a good thing for fans of modern hardcore, pure aggression and a complete refusal to acknowledge melody. Because, for all their novelty value, there’s no doubt The Hell can write a mean riff and bludgeon you into submission. Haters beware, it seems that The Hell might have the chops to be here for the long haul.
