Oh look, a tremendous band that isn’t on the Archives. Well, technically they’re not metal, but they do bring to mind an undeniable thrash metal influence, as well as some hardcore punk, CRUST, and a touch of death metal. Hellshock have released three albums to date, and while I have not heard their previous efforts, "They Wait For You Still" is one very much worth checking out.
The album starts off with “Low Men In Yellow Cloaks,” which immediately releases the burst of full-on energy that you will be hearing throughout the entire record. A crusty riff comes on while a solo blazes in the background. Nothing too technical, very punky, and very effective. “Dead Lights” commences with a mosh-riff that should have you headbanging viciously. After the short verse comes the chorus, a slightly more melodic riff with the vocals growling in the background. The vocals are a notable mention, because they range from very low death growls to high ones as well. They have a definite hardcore punk influence mixed with a bit of death metal to create a very heavy result.
The crunchy guitar tone on "They Wait For You Still" makes the album much more intense. There’s mosh-riffs being savagely played all over the place, pounding drums and every now and then a melodic riff. That’s also a feature on this record that is worth praising; it’s dominated by thrash riffs as well as crusty, hardcore punk ones; but every once in a while comes into hearing a melodic riff. One example of where this is especially prominent is in the song “To Whom They Scream.” This one starts off with a cool, mellow bass humming in the intro, soon to be met by a melodic riff after which comes a very catchy, sort of anthemy riff that’ll definitely catch your attention. “To Whom They Scream” is, regardless of its more mellow (yet at the same time still pretty heavy) riffs, a highlight on the album. It has a little bit of everything thrown in to create a phenomenal song. After the aforementioned anthemy riff comes the verse with a relatively slow thrash/punk riff. “Born Out Of Darkness” has an interesting heavy/thrash riff, also a worthy mention.
If you’re a fan of crust, thrash metal, hardcore punk and the like, this album is perfect for you. It has, as stated before, a little bit of everything. It has its fair share of melodic riffs, a couple acoustic interludes (that are quite catchy), the occasional gang shout, and, best of all, a frenzy of d-beat crushing madness the entire way through. Highly recommended crust punk. Check this one out as soon as you get the chance. An abosulte bastard of an album.
85/100
-SmithMetal84
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