WE SELL THE DEAD
In Flames and Engel guitarist Niclas Engelin, Spiritual Beggars/ex-Firewind vocalist Apollo Papathanasio, ex-Him sticksman Gas Lipstick and Jonas Slättung from Drömriket (a band also featuring Engelin) have all teamed up under the moniker We Sell the Dead, and here we have their debut album, 'Hell Doesn't Want You and Hell is Full'. Press blurb is led by the enticing question of, "What if Jack the Ripper had played in a band? A heavy metal band?", and further appetite whetting statements, asserting, "Heavy, yet melodic sounds transport the listener into a Victorian inspired world that is defined by pompous manors and daunting luxury standing in deep contrast to the harshness and cruelty of the gutter." This all sounds great. Right up my street. A Victorian aesthetic, when refined and appropriated tastefully within the context of contemporary music can be a potent pairing. Look no further than the work of Emilie Autumn for a perfect example.
Unfortunately, said blurb transpires to be utter bollocks. Misleading bollocks, in fact. Apart from the album's opening, 'The Body Market', which adheres to a "Victorian inspired world", there's absolutely zero sonic Victoriana at play during the rest of the album. Zero. What we have, instead, are plenty of down/mid-tempo, stoner grooves (occasionally more up-tempo) that've been styled around rock/metal of yore. As for the Jack the Ripper reference... well, you would expect a degree of shredding, at least (get it?), but there's not really any of that either. So, if the question they posed is, "What if Jack the Ripper had played in a heavy metal band?"... my immediate thought would be something chaotic, discordant, downbeat and sonically brutal. Gnaw Their Tongues, perhaps? Anaal Nathrakh? Oranssi Pazuzu? Blut Aus Nord? It's a ridiculous, hypothetical question, anyway, and one that I'm perhaps giving more credence than I should. But, if they are being serious, and bear in mind that Jack the Ripper's identity remains unknown to this very day, it's all a little bit Spinal Tap. Plus, seeing as they've named this venture 'We Sell the Dead', you'd think the emphasis would be on Burke and Hare rather than Jack the Ripper.
So, hyperbolic, ridiculously misleading press blurb aside, 'Hell Doesn't Want You and Hell is Full' is actually a pretty decent album for what it is (ie. virtually nothing like what it's billed as). The songwriting's well above average, the musicians play well (as expected, considering their calibre and experience), Papathanasio's vocal performance has that sleazy, laid-back vibe befitting of songs' heavy grooves, and the production and mix are spot-on. There's much to like here. It's just a shame they opted to dress up the music in all the aforementioned circumambient nonsense, as this will, undoubtedly, mislead, turn off and frustrate many potential listeners.
Unfortunately, said blurb transpires to be utter bollocks. Misleading bollocks, in fact. Apart from the album's opening, 'The Body Market', which adheres to a "Victorian inspired world", there's absolutely zero sonic Victoriana at play during the rest of the album. Zero. What we have, instead, are plenty of down/mid-tempo, stoner grooves (occasionally more up-tempo) that've been styled around rock/metal of yore. As for the Jack the Ripper reference... well, you would expect a degree of shredding, at least (get it?), but there's not really any of that either. So, if the question they posed is, "What if Jack the Ripper had played in a heavy metal band?"... my immediate thought would be something chaotic, discordant, downbeat and sonically brutal. Gnaw Their Tongues, perhaps? Anaal Nathrakh? Oranssi Pazuzu? Blut Aus Nord? It's a ridiculous, hypothetical question, anyway, and one that I'm perhaps giving more credence than I should. But, if they are being serious, and bear in mind that Jack the Ripper's identity remains unknown to this very day, it's all a little bit Spinal Tap. Plus, seeing as they've named this venture 'We Sell the Dead', you'd think the emphasis would be on Burke and Hare rather than Jack the Ripper.
So, hyperbolic, ridiculously misleading press blurb aside, 'Hell Doesn't Want You and Hell is Full' is actually a pretty decent album for what it is (ie. virtually nothing like what it's billed as). The songwriting's well above average, the musicians play well (as expected, considering their calibre and experience), Papathanasio's vocal performance has that sleazy, laid-back vibe befitting of songs' heavy grooves, and the production and mix are spot-on. There's much to like here. It's just a shame they opted to dress up the music in all the aforementioned circumambient nonsense, as this will, undoubtedly, mislead, turn off and frustrate many potential listeners.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
earMUSIC
Album
HELL DOESN'T WANT YOU AND HELL IS FULL
Review by Mark Holmes
RUNNING TIME:
42:34
RELEASE DATE:
23rd February 2018
TRACK LISTING
1) The Body Market
2) Echoes of and Ugly Past
3) Leave Me Alone
4) Imagine
5) Turn it Over
6) Too Cold to Touch
7) Trust
8) Pale and Perfect
9) Silent Scream
2) Echoes of and Ugly Past
3) Leave Me Alone
4) Imagine
5) Turn it Over
6) Too Cold to Touch
7) Trust
8) Pale and Perfect
9) Silent Scream
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Sweden
"...hyperbolic, ridiculously misleading press blurb aside, 'Hell Doesn't Want You and Hell is Full' is actually a pretty decent album for what it is (ie. virtually nothing like what it's billed as)."
