In early 1982, three members (guitarist Kevin Bower, bassist Tony Speckman, and drummer Tim Bowler) of the NWoBHM band Paralex (which up to then had released 3 demos and a 1980 EP entitled White Lightning – the band would continue to exist until 1986, delivering 3 more demos) joined forces with singer/ guitarist Dave G. Halliday, formerly a member of Race Against Time (who only released a 3-track 1980 demo, of which one song made it to compilation album New Electric Warriors that same year), to start a band which would be one of the most neglected and most revered of those days, at the same time.
The neglect came from the media and record companies. To say that Hell were musically ahead of their time, is an understatement, but a quality which was readily recognized by the thousands upon thousands of people in the Metal Underground's tape trading scene. Hell were also one of the first bands in the '80s to use proto-corpse paint (let's give Kiss credit for using face paint from the first part of the '70s though!), and preferred to distance themselves from the NWoBHM scene in which they were categorized, due to that scene already beginning to fade back when they started the band. In its formation year, the band released no less that 3 demo tapes (the 7-track Hell, the 8-track Scheming Demons, and the 3-track Demo 1982), which was show enough of the band's prolific songwriting (well, in all honesty, Halliday had songs from his Race Against Time reincarnate for the new band, you know), and in 1983 the band released it's only single Save us From Those Who Would Save Us (b-side “Deathsquad” - a single of which I am one of the very proud owners) o their own Deadly Weapons Records label. That same year also found the band debuting the inclusion of a bible being blown to bits in their show, something which caused somewhat of a stir amongst the clergy of those days.
A new demo, entitled simply Demo 1986, eventually secured the band a deal with Belgian label Mausoleum Records, and things were finally starting to get brighter for the band, who thought their struggling days were over. Yet, only two weeks before the recordings of their debut album was to start, the label filed for bankruptcy, and as a result guitarist Kevin Bower quit. He was replaced by Shaun Kelly, but in 1987 the band also folded, and this series of tragic events eventually led to Halliday committing suicide soon after...definitely closing the first chapter of the band. Thanks to the band's demos however (which were still being actively swopped in the tape trading scene), the band gained a more-than-deserved cult status.
(Info below taken & re-written from the band's Wikipedia page) In 2008, the remaining original members contacted Andy Sneap (whom had been taught how to play the guitar by Halliday) and Martin Walkyer (both former members of Sabbat, a band started by Sneap with Hell as one of the most important influences) about a reformation of Hell an so, with Sneap also acting as producer, the band went into the recording sessions of what was to become their debut album Human Remains, the album consisting of re-recorded versions of songs of the band's past. However, although Walkyier went through the complete vocal recordings, the complete band was unhappy about the result, as it sounded too much like a set of previously unrecorded Sabbat material. Bower then invited his brother David (known as David Beckford as a stage and television actor) to do a voiceover on one of the tracks, and this was done só well, that he was inducted into the Hell ranks forthwith, re-recording the vocals for the album, which was released in late March 2011 through Nuclear Blast (preceded by the single “Save Us From Those Who Would Save Us” b/w “On Earth As It Is In Hell” earlier that same month). A limited edition of the album included a bonus disc of early demo songs. The band did its debut show in its hometown Nottingham in May 2011, and followed that up with a run of the European festivals throughout Summer. At Bloodstock Open Air, they received the “2011 Best Mainstage Performance” vote, and at the end of the year Sweden Rock Magazine awarded Human Remains in the category “2011 Album Of The Year”.
2012 found the band continue a series of live successes, as they did the complete European Stalingrad tour as direct support to Accept, and put in several shows outside that tour. Those including a show at the Rock Hard Festival, where the event was filmed for airing through German TV station WDR's long-running show Rockpalazt. The band closed the year with headlining shows in Ireland's Dublin, a town festival near Barcelona (Spain), and an appearance at Rommelrock in Maasmechelen (Belgium). At the end of the touring run, the Human Remains show had been taken through no less than 16 countries.
Before the end of 2012, the band had already started writing new material for their sophomore album, and by the beginning of this very year, Kev Bower and Andy Sneap had already recorded demo versions for the majority of the album. With proper studio recordings planned for the Spring, and no early demo tracks left to use as bonus material, the band decided to record a live DVD for the album's compliment. This was filmed/ recorded at the band's first show of 2013 at Derby Assembly Rooms, on February 23, a show which found fans traveling from 13 countries to attend. Well, the show was worth it, for it unveiled the band's full Church Of Hell stage set & pyrotechnic show (later, the band would find out that due to technical problems, some of the material had become unsalvageable – a problem solved by adding footage from the band's 2013 Bloodstock Open Air performance (where they were invited back as a result of being voted the most requested act to come back through the event's website forum).
Preceding the album' release, Nuclear Blast already released The Age Of Nefarius, a 12-inch EP entitled after its title track, which can also be found on the new album. Further tracks are live versions of “On Earth As It Is In Hell”, “Blasphemy And The Master”, and The Oppressors”. The album itself consists of no less than 11 songs and an intro, totaling just under a complete hour's length of music. Delectable music which, thanks to taking elements from several sub-genres (Heavy Metal, Thrash, Power, Symphonic, Gothic, Speed, Doom, and even Black Metal) confirms once again what a great band Hell is! If you're looking for full-length audio off the new album on the Internet, I can tell you that the only place where you'll find such, is in the “YouTube” section at the band's facebook page (www.) facebook.com/HELLofficial, with a live rendition of the track “Darkhangel”, filmed at this year's Bloodstock. However, in the “iTunes” section of the same site, you'll find a possibility to listen to 30-second samples of all 12 tracks!
By the time you read this, I'm afraid to say, the band will already have concluded a first European tour as first support to Amon Amarth and Carcass. Starting on November 7, and with a total of 25 shows, it will have brought the band through a total of 13 countries. Too bad I had so much albums to review prior to this one (you have nó idea about the backlog we have, here at ConcreteWeb – ah well, one of the back problems with being an in-demand reviewing site with too little collaborators, I guess...let this serve as a call out there: anyone interested in making a sérious go at music journalism, please contact our editor-in-chief for details), and at this moment no further dates for 2014 gigging have been announced. So I can only advice the fans to keep checking the band's website (www.) hell-metal-band.com on a regular basis! Meanwhile, let's throw Curse & Chapter on top of the heap of nominations or those year-lists, shall we!?