::The Bill::
::Review::NME - 5th January 2002:: - I have just typed the bit about HIFH.
by John Mulvey
::Review::Kerrang! - 5th January 2002:: - (Again) - I have just typed the bit about HIFH.
by Ashley Bird
When At The Drive-In played their first British show, Colin Doran was there handing out flyers for Hundred Reasons. Now he's the singer with the big hair who has to juggle ambition and conscience.
Strangly, a couple of Hell Is For Heroes found themselves in a similar position a few years ago, as part of the unruly mess of thrashing children that was Symposium. Nowadays they've learned discipline and, to be honest, their entire new act from the Deftones. There are worse role models, of course, and its hard energy, passion or regimentally churning riffs. But the problems that hamstrung Symposium remain - all the charisma and tunes left in the last Transit van to America.
Hell Is For Heroes know their way around the odd adrenalised riff or two themselves, although theirs is more of a baby Deftones sound - downtuned poundings interspersed with moments of sparse, seething calm. The 'baby' tag comes from the fact that they haven't quite learned how to harness their impressive live energy and channel it into something truly memorable - as yet it all washes by with a lack of real hooks. But the crowd love them and this time next year these miniature Heroes could well be a real force to be reckoned with.