25 June 2007 (gig)
03 July 2007
Returning in 2006 from a dormant period by releasing new material and launching straight into a live tour, 2007 has been an equally busy year so far for post-hardcore quintet Hell Is For Heroes, with the Camden Barfly bearing witness to HIFH’s final stop on their recent Kerrang tour, supported by Disco Ensemble and Gary Portland.
The first half of the gig encompassed their most recent album ('Hell Is For Heroes’) and some of its predecessor ('Transmit Disrupt’). Not being overly familiar with the former, I didn’t know what to expect, and most of the set list fell slightly short for a band that is known for their no-shit, nerve-wrecking riffs and adrenaline fuelled live performances, despite the role call checking out to the contrary. The crunching guitars of William McGonagle and Tom O'Donoghue are all present and correct in an unrelenting storm, with Joe Birch’s drumming coming close to psychotic, while James Findlay’s bass thunders beneath Josh Schlosberg’s intense vocals. It’s not until you see what you’re doing that you realise what’s missing. You’re thinking about it.
There was no room for thought in the brutal onslaught that formed most of 'The Neon Handshake’. You simply have to move once the riffery of tunes like 'You Drove Me To It’ or 'I Can Climb Mountains’ kicks in, for fear of rupturing your spleen from the raw energy that comes cannoning out. Schlosberg, however, is no stranger to pumping up an audience, throwing himself (often literally) full on into the music with such force, his look of intense desperation is enough to keep you focused through material that carries an epic hallmark, but never seems to escalate to a satisfying conclusion.
For the closing half of the gig the band whipped out most of the 'The Neon Handshake’, keeping the pace high as the temperature climbed and movement once again felt necessary to avoid internal haemorrhaging, proving that while they have spent some time out of the scene, Hell Is For Heroes are still a band that commands attention.
Photo: Matthew Bowron
