NME | (16th June 2001)
ON band... Hell Is For Heroes
Brit Hardcore Upstarts
by Stevie Chick
Life in just-started-shaving pogo-pup outift Symposium always looked like tremendous fun, a never-ending parade of spilt lager and charismatic, undemanding indie rock. But, in typical behind the music fashion, this veneer barely masked churning turmoil and a band torn apart by conflicts. "On our last tour," whispers guitarist Will McGonagle, wincing at the memory, "every time I put a CD on the tourbus stereo, I really got the feeling everyone else in the band was going, 'ugh!'. I was listening to my own shit, Deftones, old Fugazi records, getting less and less interested in Symposium. This was the music I wanted to make". Hence the transition from Symposium to his new band, hellfire metallic punks Hell Is For Heroes. A development akind to your nerdy cousin getting tattoos and a mohican and kicking the shit out of the moshpit at an Amen gig. Which is an apt description of the Heroes' debut single, 'Sick/Happy', a headlong rush of chainsaw-weilding noise blessed with a pop sensibility. "The pop bit was an accident," grins guitarist Tom O'Donoghue. "The album's all noise!" he lies. Will pieced Hell Is For Heroes (named after a rock-hard steve mcqueen war flick, natch) shortly after symposium imploded. It's a family affair, drummer Joe Birch is ex-Symposium, Tom and bassist James Findlay are old schoolfriends of Will's, while singer Justin Schlossberg hooked up with the band through mutual friends. The tracks on 'Sick/Happy' date from their first demo session, recorded in a day, before the band had even played any live gigs. "It was the first time we ever heard what we sound like," remarks dry-humoured Joe, "and it was a pleasant surprise". They're happy to be filed next to other bands in the UK nu-hardcore explosion such as Hundred Reasons, Crackout, and Kids Near Water. "There's something exciting going on, a real scene, you can't deny it," says Tom. But will these heroes stay the course? "We all brought our own CD Walkmans on tour with us, just in case," says Justin, "but none of us used them. We all wanted to listen to the same stuff"! Looks like these kids will be alright then.
