Hell Is For Heroes, Leeds Cockpit
HELL IS FOR HEROES have had a funny old year, being dropped by EMI can’t have been the highlight, but if you talk to Justin Schlosberg he’s keen to assure you that this will not disrupt the bands progress, nor do they see it as a step backwards, more something to use as an advantage. Whether or not this is a case, the fans of the band are desperate for new material to follow up the debut album which came out nearly 2 years ago.
Tonight’s gig at the Cockpit was obviously going to be a “throw new material” in their direction evening. Something I’ve never been keen of at all. Despite opening with “Out Of Sight,” the band rip through a 45 minute set which consists mainly of new era songs, which go down well, but you get the impression isn’t really what the crowd in attendance wanted to hear. In fact, when the crowd applauded at the end of a song, you sense it’s almost applause of anticipation, more than appreciation, to hear what could be next on the set list. What also stuck out as seriously disappointing (and in a way I feel wrong) was the bands failure to even name check any of these new songs, so although you got a short blast, it’s not like any of them stuck in your memory through title. I also found the quality of this new material to be below average as well. Not one song had the catchiness of “Nightvision” or the fuel of “I Can Climb Mountains,” and although the band seemed full of energy on stage (Justin spent half is night aloft on his back in the crowd whilst Will McGonagle swings his arms and guitar around in a quite destructive manor), the majority of the new songs failed to make a serious impression on me.
Out of the old material, HIFH knocked out a couple of classics, and the crowd really enjoyed that. They didn’t play “Nightvision” or “Retreat” which I found of personal disappointment, but it was sill tracks like “She Drove Me To It,” where the HIFH shined and showed why there’s still life in this band yet. Their liveliness could not be faulted in the slightest onstage this evening, and the energy and passion they emit on stage is flawless. I thought tonight HIFH were very rushed as well which obviously didn’t contribute to them being able to interact with the crowd more. They were ushered off stage at 10pm without an encore which wasn’t really fair as it was what the crowd wanted. As a fan, I wait eagerly for the new album now, and hope tonights performance wasn't so much a bad one, just me not being very "open minded" towards new materail. (7)
Pete
Options:»
Gig Reviews Index
