Hell (Hell album)
{{use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Hell
| type = studio
| artist = Hell
| cover = File:Hell_(2017)_cover.jpg
| alt = A drawing of a demonic scene rendered in red, inspired by the works of Gustave Doré
| released = August 11, 2017
| recorded = 2014–2017
| venue =
| studio = The Burial Grounds
| genre = {{hlist|Doom metal|{{nowrap|sludge metal}}}}
| length = {{Duration|m=49|s=52}}
| label = {{hlist|LowerYourHead|Sentient Ruin Laboratories {{small|(SRUIN053)}}}}
| producer = M.S.W.
| prev_title = Hell III
| prev_year = 2012
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
Hell is the fourth studio album by Salem, Oregon, doom metal project Hell. It was released on August 11, 2017, as a limited cassette by the label Sentient Ruin Laboratories{{Cite AV media notes |title=Hell |type=cassette liner notes |others=Hell |year=2017 |url=https://www.discogs.com/Hell-Hell/release/10704803 |accessdate=April 4, 2018 |publisher=Sentient Ruin Laboratories |id=SRUIN053}} and as a digital download by Hell's own label, LowerYourHead.{{cite web|last=Kelly|first=Kim|title=HELL's Apocalyptic Doom Will Outlive Us All|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/hells-apocalyptic-doom-will-outlive-us-all/|work=Vice|access-date=December 29, 2017}} Hell received critical acclaim from the few publications that covered it. On April 22, 2018, Hell performed Hell in its entirety at Roadburn Festival.{{cite web|last=Handelman|first=Ben|title=Hell to perform their S/T album in full at Roadburn 2018|url=http://roadburn.com/band/hell/|publisher=Roadburn Festival|accessdate=December 29, 2017}}
The songs "SubOdin" and "Inscriptus" first appeared on Hell's 2015 EP, also called Hell.{{cite web |url=http://blackmetalandbrews.com/2016/04/07/hell-interview/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230115433/http://blackmetalandbrews.com/2016/04/07/hell-interview/|url-status=dead |archive-date=30 December 2017 |title=Falling from Your Heavens: A Conversation with M.S.W. of Hell |last=A.|first=Ben|date=April 7, 2016 |work=Black Metal & Brews|accessdate=February 18, 2018}}
Background and composition
After Hell's trilogy of self-titled albums concluded in 2012 with Hell III, frontman M.S.W. considered discontinuing the project. About the change of heart, he said, "I was going to change the name of the project, thinking that a better name would suit the new sound more, but now I’m thinking I’ll keep the name and see how that goes."
{{Listen|filename=SubOdin_clip.ogg|title="SubOdin"|description="SubOdin" highlights the album's heavily downtuned guitars and highly distorted vocals.}}
Hell is a doom metal album and, as such, is driven by slow, downtuned guitar riffs. The reviewer Shakeel Cox-Henry noted that the vocal styles on the album are "very much alien" to traditional doom metal, describing them as abrasive, tortured and atonal. Operatic singing is incorporated on the introductory track, "Seelenos", by Karli Mcnutt. Cox-Henry wrote that, in addition to the unusual vocals, the songs are structured unconventionally, lacking predictable progression and varying often in tempo.
Another uncommon feature of Hell is its use of samples. The album's opening track, "Seelenos", contains quotes from the works of Emily Dickinson. The next track, "Helmzmen", has the Mayday call of a doomed ship that sank in the Gulf of Alaska.{{cite web|last=Bellino|first=Vince|title=Track Premiere: Hell – 'Helmzmen'|url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2017/07/28/track-premiere-hell-helmzmen/|work=Decibel|accessdate=February 17, 2018}} The song "Wandering Soul" contains a sample that the US military used in a psychological weapon project against the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = Metal Injection
| rev1score = Very favorable{{cite web|last=Davis|first=Cody|title=Funeral Doom Friday: HELL's Latest Self-Titled Album is More Terrifying than Literal Hell|url=http://www.metalinjection.net/av/funeral-doom-friday/hell-hell|work=Metal Injection|accessdate=December 29, 2017}}
| rev2 = Midlands Metalheads
| rev2score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web|last=Cox-Henry|first=Shakeel|title=Review: Hell (M.S.W) – Hell|url=https://midlandsmetalheads.com/review-hell-m-s-w-hell/|work=Midlands Metalheads|accessdate=December 29, 2017}}
}}
Hell received highly positive reviews. Writing for Metal Injection, Cody Davis said, "[Hell's] entirety results in what can only be described as one of the most enthralling albums to come out in 2017 and a strong album of the year candidate." Shakeel Cox-Henry of Midlands Metalheads wrote, "This album is strong, consistent, and most importantly, uses its resources to create an atmosphere of dereliction and suffering that only Hell could create." Invisible Oranges said, "For an album so pummeling, there is a hint of sincerity hidden beneath its dense brawn."{{cite web |last=Cory |first=Ian |date=August 2, 2017 |title=Hell – "Victus" (Song Premiere) |url=http://www.invisibleoranges.com/hell-victus-song-premiere/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805064757/http://www.invisibleoranges.com/hell-victus-song-premiere/ |archive-date=August 5, 2017 |accessdate=April 15, 2018 |work=Invisible Oranges}} Hell appeared as number 14 on Stereogum's 2017 year-end best metal albums list; Ian Chainey in that publication called the album's execution "top-notch" and repeatedly praised its riffs.
=Accolade=
| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:0em 1em 1em 0pt"
!Year !Publication !Country !Accolade !Rank !class=unsortable| | ||||
| align=center|2017 | Stereogum | United States
| "The Best Metal Albums of 2017" | align=center|14 | {{cite web|last=Moore|first=Doug|title=The Best Metal Albums of 2017|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1975088/the-best-metal-albums-of-2017/franchises/2017-in-review/|work=Stereogum|accessdate=December 29, 2017}} |
Track listing
All songs written by M.S.W.
{{Track listing
| headline = CD and vinyl version
| title1 = Seelenos
| length1 = 4:20
| title2 = Helmzmen
| length2 = 9:35
| title3 = SubOdin
| length3 = 7:30
| title4 = Machitikos
| length4 = 5:38
| title5 = Wandering Soul
| length5 = 5:09
| title6 = Inscriptus
| length6 = 5:01
| title7 = Victus
| length7 = 12:36
| total_length = 49:52
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Digital and cassette version
| title1 = Helmzmen
| length1 = 9:35
| title2 = SubOdin
| length2 = 7:30
| title3 = Machitikos
| length3 = 5:38
| title4 = Wandering Soul
| length4 = 5:09
| title5 = Inscriptus
| length5 = 5:01
| title6 = Victus
| length6 = 12:36
| title7 = Seelenos
| length7 = 4:20
| total_length = 49:52
}}
Personnel
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
Hell
- M.S.W. – guitar, bass guitar, drums, vocals, programming
{{col-3}}
Additional musicians
- A.L.N. (Liam Neighbors) – guest vocals
- T.A.S. – guest vocals
- Gina Eygenhuysen – violin on "Victus"
- Karli Mcnutt – operatic vocals on "Seelenos"
{{col-3}}
Technical personnel
- Blial Cabal – artwork
- Edgar McCray – mastering
{{col-end}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Hell (American band)}}
{{Authority control}}