:: Hell Is For Heroes - Hell Is For Heroes

Hell Is For Heroes

The demise of Symposium was a big disappointment, especially given the potential the London pop-punk/rock based act showed on the sole full-length effort ‘On The Outside’ from 1998. But hopes were reignited with the news that guitarist Tom O’Donoghue and drummer Joe Birch announced their plans to continue under the name of Hell Is For Heroes, alongside vocalist Justin Schlosberg, guitarist William McGonagle and bassist James Findlay. After a few independently released singles, the group’s long awaited debut effort ‘The Neon Handshake’ was released in 2003, with many predicting the band’s potential could eclipse Symposium’s own success. But with the release of their sophomore effort ‘Transmit Disrupt’ in 2005, it was clear that Hell Is For Heroes wasn’t about to take the easy option, with the band opting for a heavier and less accessible post-hardcore sound, leaving both fans and press alike with mixed opinions. It’s been somewhat of a quiet two years since then, but once again the band have returned with a self-titled third effort, which has also been recently acknowledged as their last under the banner of Hell Is For Heroes.

On the band’s final release, Hell Is For Heroes have managed to find the happy medium between the sound on their debut album and their sophomore release. But unfortunately, the former song writing that was evident on their first two efforts is clearly flagging a third time around. The album is opened up with ‘To Die For’, which features a lengthy instrumental build up for the most part. But for all the building up the track promises, it fails to really deliver anything special when it finally kicks in around the last two minutes, with the absence of anything remotely impacting in the way of a chorus or a riff structure. The follow up track ‘Stranger In You’, although a touch more upfront and riff structured, seems to suffer the same fate as the opener with its bland and forgettable chorus, while the dreary ‘Arcades’ barely manages to get off the ground with its downbeat aura. ‘Between Us’ and the single ‘You’ve Got Hopes’ practically mimic the lack of life that hindered the first couple of tracks on the album, which only elevates the energetic ‘My Protector’ as one of the stand out tracks, even though it’s far from anything special. The remaining four tracks barely rise above the substandard level set by the tracks that preceded them, apart from the somewhat livelier ‘Into The Blood’. For all the promise that Hell Is For Heroes once held, it’s clear that it was all used up on their first two releases. ‘Hell Is For Heroes’ is lifeless and dull, and a sure sign of a band running out of momentum. The only good thing to come out as a result of this album’s release is the band finally realised that their time was up.