Hell Ahoy

Hell A Horse EP

Written by: PP on 13/08/2013 22:13:57

Hell Ahoy is a project started by ex-members of Danish bands Marvin's Revolt and Rising after landing a support gig to US band Dope Body despite not even being a band yet. So they got together, did two rehearsals, and recorded seven songs for the gig, six of which can be found on "Hell A Horse" EP under review here. As you might imagine, this is as garage as it gets, as unpolished, untouched as it gets, yet there are a number of good elements to be found in their boisterous blend of noise rock and groove.

For starters, the vocals are mostly faded back and grunted/yelled, bringing to mind many a sludge metal band in the vein of Kylesa & co. The guitars are also primarily faded back and concentrate on making screeching noise, dirty rock'n'roll riffs, and expansive ambiance in the background. The spotlight is on the bass guitar, which is down tuned all the way to China, providing some low-end groove that'd make even the grand masters of groove Fu Manchu look twice in their direction. Occasionally, some clean vocals arrive, such as on "Earth In Pieces", but these are awkward and off-tune, so let's not discuss them more here. Instead, the interesting part comes int he form of "In Difference", which echoes the 80s style grunge scene back when it was still dirty and rowdy before pop elements sneaked in. Think more like "Bleach" by Nirvana than "Superunknown" by Soundgarden, though here, too, the noise rock element comes in strongly.

Out of the material on offer here, I've got a few pointers. Either they should consider exploring further towards the grunge sound, where I found glimpses of potential, or alternatively, get much, much, MUCH more production on especially the guitars before this is going to work. For now, you can hear that it's talented musicians behind the noisy unpolished mess, but that's about the best thing you can say about the record in its current state.

5

Download: Bope Dody, Don't Take It To Heart
For the fans of: Kylesa, Rising, Fu Manchu
Listen: No online presence!

Release date 25.03.2013
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