NME.com | Issue (Jan '02)

On Update

Hell Is For Heroes have more of a swagger about them and largely impress with a chunky sound that delves everywhere for inspiration - from 'Quicksand's angular riffage to 'Killing Joke's brooding menace - everywhere, in fact, apart from the jaunty bounce of drummer Joe Birch and guitarist Will McGonagle's former outfit SymposWay back in the mists of time (June 2001 actually, seems like an age) NME's legendary On section brought you news of a band called Hell Is For Heroes. Rising from the ashes of the band formerly known as Symposium, we claimed the transition of drummer Joe Birch and guitarist Will McGonagle to hellfire metallic punks was 'a development akin to your nerdy cousin getting tattoos and a mohawk and kicking the shit out of the moshpit at an Amengig'. Only last week NME (January 19) reviewed their new single, 'You Drove Me To It', claiming it to be 'a valiant attempt to claw metal back from the burger greased grip of our baseball hatted cousins.' Going on to say it has 'several rhinos worth of guitars... there's even something approaching an anthemic melodic surge two thirds of the way through.' High praise, we think. We also think that 'in a race against the abominable Limp Bizkit this is a well-greased skateboard with a wheel missing' is also saying Hell Is For Heroes are rather fine.