This Is Hell
Sundowning
Trustkill/Stomp


Trustkill Records have done it again. The debut album from This Is Hell is nothing short of pure melodic hardcore genius. 'Sundowning' offers a brutal, energetic and catchy 13 tracks of fast drumming, breakdowns and sing-alongs. Almost a live-sounding album and brilliantly produced by Dean Baltulonis (Most Precious Blood, Sick Of It All), this album evokes energy onto any listener who dares go near it.

At only a short 28 minutes, there is a serious vibe of a no-time-to-waste theory behind This Is Hell, pumping out track after track of raw music intensity. Unfortunately, there are a couple of letdowns with the album. For example, there are a couple of filler tracks, so to speak, which are really not needed on the album and in a way stand out a bit too much, like a polar bear in the desert. Regrettably, the titles of these filler tracks offer nothing to the imagination either, as they are just dates of the year 2005. Keeping in mind that these tracks are obviously just intermissions of some sort, they don't really go with the flow and energy of the album.

The other complaint one may have about this album is that it is scarily similar to Comeback Kid. Not only is the style of the music the same, but some of the lyrics are even reminiscent of the Canadian quintet. However, the formula works, so who am I to judge?

The album as a whole is as appealing as pornography to a teenage boy, with tracks like Broken Teeth, Epilogue and The Polygraph Cheaters inducing the need to run around like an idiot shouting out certain gang vocal lyrics, it's definitely an addiction. I think that with time this band can only get better and their debut album only gives justice to the fact that hardcore is well and truly alive.

Will Oakeshott