Rock Sound | Issue 26 (26th July 2001)
Free CD Feature... Hell Is For Heroes - 'I Can Climb Mountains' Demo
Here's another rock sound tip for the top. Hot young newcomers hell is for heroes, apart from having a great name, have great tunes too. It's early days for the band, but we thought we'd expose 'em to you lucky lot before everyone else picks up on them. If you like the sound of this track then check out their debut single which should be hitting your local record emporium right about now. Just remember where you heard 'em first.
by Darren Taylor (I think. He compiled the CD)
Rock Sound | Issue 26 (26th July 2001)
Single Review... Hell Is For Heroes - 'Sick/Happy' | 'Cut Down'
Unfortunately, being as rare a specimen as Hell Is For Heroes (superior british rock outfit) are, it's inevitable they'll soon be hunted down and tortured till they clean their act up. In the meantime though, make the most of a band who have clearly listened to as much Afghan Whigs and Dinosaur Jr. as they have Deftones and Black Flag. As debut singles go they don't come much finer. Go get!
4/5
by Johnny K Rock Sound | Issue 26 (26th July 2001)
Exposure... Hell Is For Heroes
Bad Religion
by Johnny K
This months Rock Sound came with a free compilation CD with 'I Can Climb Mountains' on it.
Hell Is For Heroes are London's hottest new rock act. They've been together six months, two of them used to be in Symposium, they sound as though they listen to Afghan Whigs, Deftones and Dinosaur Jr. records, and certainly the majority of them seem to prefer being in a band to being at school. We know that lessons and all that weren't their thing, because today they're thinking about locations for an interesting photo shoot, and seeing as they've got the word 'hell' in their name, it might be cool to visit their own idea of damnation. And so it is that Will suggests going back to the classroom, maybe digging up an old tutor, "boys amongst men," he laughs, recalling his teachers, "they're fucking kids man, they're just wankers, i hate them". Tooking at will, the flame-haired guitarist, it's hard to believe he carries any animosity towards anyone. His face is a smile, his smile his face, but he's certainly managed to get Justin, Hell's frontman, right on one, "i'll never forget when i was at nursery school, i was about five years old, our teacher told us we had to draw a tree and i got a bit bored - and i thought i'd be a bit creative or whatever and i drew little men around the tree and i got totally bollocked for that... I just wanted to push the edges a little bit, you know what i mean"! The point Hell Is For Heroes are making is that they've waited a long time to be given the opportunity to challenge the boundaries, to fight for what they believe in, and sure it's easy to harbour destructive distaste for certain elements of one's past, but far better is to take that negative energy and use it for good. A bit like Batman does, you might say. And so it is that the band, made up by other guitarist Tom, bassist Fin and drummer Joe, find themselves where they are now, finishing a tour with Sunna and preparing themselves for exciting times ahead. Not that musical satisfaction is the only motivation for doing what they do. Justin finds his inspiration in the Bible. "There's something about sitting in a pub when there's no-one around in the middle of the day", he points out wistfully, "it's magical", noting with a grin that, "Jeremiah 25:27", does indeed implore us to, "drink, get drunk and then vomit". And of course, being the kind of band who notice that The Bible did the really un-Hollywood thing by killing the good guy before ruining it by bringing him back to life, you're not surprised that they're inclined to take The Lord at His wrod. Religion and rock 'n' roll, what more do you need?
