HELL IN THE CLUB
HELL IN THE CLUB – "F.U.B.A.R."
By Colonel Angus
I am always amazed at the quality of metal coming out and even more so with the fact that a lot of slips under my radar. After doing a bit of research, I find that the band members are from a couple of bands that I have read about but never heard, namely ELVENKING and SECRET SPHERE. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if I have a history with a band as long as I get to discover them and I am so glad that “F.U.B.A.R.” was given to me for a review. For those of you that frequent Wormwood Chronicles, you know that while my tastes can go from melodic rock to heavier metal like SLAYER, OVERKILL, and EXODUS but always gravitate towards straight-ahead metal with a good helping of melody. And that is exactly what HELL IN THE CLUB have to offer. “F.U.B.A.R”. is full of rocking tracks that strut and swagger for just over forty minutes without any slow-down or ballad in sight.
The album opens up with melodic rocker “Sidone” that has some great 80s metal moments but with a great beefy present-day sound. The guitar work from Andrea "Picco" Piccardi is superb in both the riffing and the melodic soloing. Davide "Dave" Moras also makes his presence felt as he has a great voice that fits this type of metal perfectly. He does change his vocal performance to fit the song like on “Embrace the Sacrifice” but I’m jumping ahead of myself. Next up we get a thumping mid-paced rocker called “The Arrival” that has one of the catchiest choruses on a disk full of catchy choruses (and that says something). “Total Disaster” has a frantic vibe about it that at times reminds me a bit of punk. The chorus brings it back into classic 80s metal but the verses definitely explores a more primal sound.
If chugging riffs are what you want, then “This Kid” will get you going. Rhythm section Andrea "Andy" Buratto on bass and drummer Marco "Mark" Lazzarini especially shine on this tune with the latter adding some cool tribal drumming to an already bass heavy track. “Best Way of Life” has a great MOTLEY CRUE vibe circa “Girls, Girls, Girls”/”Dr Feelgood”. The chorus reminds me a bit of “Kickstart My Heart” but the rest of the song has that good time party attitude that HELL IN THE CLUB seem to be really good at exploring within their material.
The band is from Italy so it makes sense that they would bring in some of their heritage into the mix so when I saw “Cimitero Vivente” as a song title, I just had to do a little research. It seems that it references the movie “Pet Cemetery” with the title loosely translated to “Living Cemetery”. No matter, the song is a hard charging rocker that has a really cool bridge right before the guitar solo. That is what I like about the tracks on “F.U.B.A.R.” Even though they pick a groove and stick with it for the most part, each song has a section that deviates from the rest of the tune and adds another element to an already great song. “Sleepless” has a nice G n’ R “Mr. Brownstone” groove about it but in other areas, it channels that great 80s melodic rock sound. As mentioned earlier, Dave’s vocals have a lower register for “The End of It All” which has elements of grunge but I also hear a little bit of TRIUMPH in the bridge.
Although I like the whole record a lot, each day I seem to pick a favorite and currently (as I write this review) The End of It All” is the one. Things heat up with “Undertaker” which is fast high octane rocker that makes you want to throw your fist in the air and headbang. Even though this is clearly 2023, the song reminds me of that same energy and enthusiasm of early NWOBHM. The disk end with a couple of tracks that so the diversity of the material with “Tainted Sky” having a 70s glam vibe about while closing tune “Embrace the Sacrifice” is a heavy rocker that possesses a very catchy chorus. All in all, not a bad tune on the whole record.
The art of discovering new bands is different from when I was younger but the joy felt with finding that group is still the same. I’m so happy this came across my desk as I might have missed a record that will definitely be in my top 25 for this year. “F.U.B.A.R.” is more than a solid effort from HELL IN THE CLUB and now I’ll be purchasing their older catalogue. New listeners like myself, I would start with this record and I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed.