HellPromiseHell Promise hail from Seattle, a city rich with music history, featuring great musicians and bands such as Jimi Hendrix, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Botch, etc. They also feature former Himsa guitarist Brian Johnson, who is now the vocalist of HP. To my knowledge they have only put out a self released demo. So I found it a little odd they would already be on a label that is home to the likes of The Acceptance and Gatsby’s American Dream, two of the more known pop punk outfits. When I first popped this in, the first thing that immediately popped in my head was god damn this sounds a lot like a second rate Last Call. It’s metalcore with a lot of emphasis placed on thrash. Just not as much as a hardcore undertone as LC. If there is one thing that is album does have going for itself is that throughout the 35 minutes it doesn’t slow down in it’s attempt to overtake you with crushing guitar work, it’s consistent. I mean I’ll give it up to these guys, they definitely sat down and took the time to craft the music on this. And the recording definitely helps breath life into the songs, but the one thing that hinders this record is the inconsistent lyrical content. I’ve heard worse but the lyrics can be solid to strong one song and complete garbage the next (see Brass Knuckle Nightmare). Also the song titles are the typical metalcore titles using little to no imagination. The layout is pretty goofy if you ask me, if you try to judge the book by the cover you would think it’s some kind of rockabilly or country type shit. I’m not saying this release is bad by any means but there are so many metalcore bands trying to stake their claim in the nearest Hot Topic shelves or Headbangers Ball rotation. This is nothing new, it’s just rehashing what has already been done without adding any new real flair. I will give them credit though for being an actual metalcore band rather than a wannabe emo metalcore band. This band deserves some respect but if anyone calls this genre bending or a candidate for album of the year, they are kidding themselves. They’re a lot of bands that play a similar style of music and actually do it better and are more worthy of label promotion than this band is, but I guess this band is a little better are putting together press kits. If you like metalcore, I’d suggest you check out a track or two yourself and decide whether or not you want to buy this.
Rating: 3/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Chamber #5
Thesis: This is one of those albums where you don’t regret purchasing it but you’re not thrilled either. You’ll listen to it more than once but it won’t get steady play in your stereo, IPOD or whatever you play your music on/in.