Hellhole

Hellhole [7 inch] (2007)

Darren

Hellhole is that hardcore band. You know, that local band that is a lot of fun to see live in a sweaty pit, but when you listen to a recording, you cannot for the life of you tell it apart from any other run-of-the-mill hardcore band. You know the band I'm talking about?

Hellhole does have a few things going for them. They have a nice old-school hardcore sound, good gritty production, and are also competent enough vocally and musically, even if their lyrics are usually cringeworthy ("People are shit / and I don't want to deal with it"). But ultimately, though they do change the tempo up slightly from song to song, the songs on the disc still blend into one another. The band also just sounds generic, not doing anything to distinguish themselves from any other hardcore band.

Though Hellhole's 7" is a decent entry into the hardcore arena, it never really captures the listener and delivers anything exceptional or novel. Though it closes on a high note with the strong track "Cold Stares," the previous 7 minutes of music offer little incentive to throw it on again.