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hellboulevard notsorry
Artist: Hell Boulevard
Title: Not Sorry
Genre: Goth’n’Roll
Release Date: 18th September 2020
Label: No Cut


Album Review

As so many releases, HELL BOULEVARDS latest release ‘Not Sorry’ became a victim of the corona pandemic and the release was postponed several times. ‘Not Sorry’ is the third full-length album the band released within only four years, meaning you have a highly productive band and so far, the band’s sound and song-writing was well received by the critics and the fans. HELL BOULEVARD’s lyrics usually cover the topics of emotions, love, death, sadness and sometimes anger and the Goth scene welcomed the band with open arms and the band will be on stage at the next M’era Luna festival.

‘I Should Be Dead By Now’ greets you with a very Goth mood. Low distorted bass- and guitar parts underline the vocals, while the chorus parts are more uplifting and very melodic. ‘Not Sorry’ follows suit and will get people on the dancefloor whenever the clubs are open again, for sure. The line ‘Sorry, not Sorry’ is definitely a catchy tune and you might find yourself having it on your mind for hours after you listened to this song. ‘Not Sorry’ has rather strong Electro prone elements, something that was audible not so often on their part releases, but no worries Von Marengo won’t let you down, he contributed fantastic guitar riffs, that are some of the best on the whole album.

‘Speak of the Devil’ kicks off with a brilliant piano-solo, that soon meets a short contrast in brutal drum parts and hard guitar-riffing. The lyric parts nearly stand alone with very scarce instrumental underlining, still the chorus is somewhat melodic and intriguing. A song that is not typical for what we heard from HELL BOULEVARD so far but with a fantastic dramatic touch and definitely a highlight on this album. The intro of ‘Ropes and Candies’ really annoyed me and I was ready to press the skip button. It’s the kind of music that starts getting on your nerves if you are busy looking for something in an overcrowded shopping centre. Add a filthy dialogue from a cheap movie to it and you know what you have to face with the intro of this song. I endured it and discovered some appealing guitar parts and a melodic chorus. That’s it.

‘Death to the Future’ is a song FADERHEAD contributed to. So, it does not come as a surprise, that you will find Industrial influences in this rather fast and heavy song. If you listen close, you will hear FADERHEAD contributing some of the vocals and by adding a nice piano part, the song loses some of its heavy and fast forward edge. ‘Where is you god now?’ comes with some nice surprises and turns and is one of the tracks worth listening through several times. The intro is dominated by strings and a piano, some bells are added and a choir is clearly audible. Somehow it feels pretty Goth until guitars kick in and harder and harder loops and merciless drums take over and you listen to a hard and heavy HELL BOULEVARD. The second part of the album shows less surprises and the song-writing is more or less average. ‘You Had Me at Fuck OFF’ is a simple black ballade, you could place on any of HELL BOULEVARD’s releases.

‘Hate Me’ is a beautiful song, a beautiful dramatic ballad and a good demonstration of HELL BOULEVARDS emotional side. ‘Like Romeo and Juliet’ is a perfect platform for vDiva’s fantastic vocals, and you might find goose bumps on your skin but not necessarily. ‘Lilies and Roses’ is very melancholic with lyrics worth regarding them and definitely one for those with a Goth heart. ‘Queen Paranoia’ kind of drags you out of your melancholic Goth universe and shows that HELL BOULEVARDS know how to write a good Goth-Rock song and I’m quite curious to hear the live version. The underlining strings and bells and especially the Carillion solo part might not be everybody’s cup of tea but somehow the Metal prone guitar riffing makes up for it. ‘To Hell and Beyond’ sees you off. The song starts with a mid-age kind of intro, then somehow turns into a heavy blast directly into your face and ears while some Rococo stuff becomes audible in the background.

‘Not Sorry’ marks a step away from the Goth’n’Roll, to harder Industrial and Electro sounds but it’s still HELL BOULEVARD. An album that might attract more listeners from the black and Goth scene as it is open for various tastes of music.


Tracklist

01. I Should Be Dead By Now
02. Not Sorry
03. Speak of the Devil
04. Ropes and Candies
05. Death to the Future
06. Where is your God now?
07. You Had Me at Fuck Off
08. Queen Paranoia
09. Hate Me
10. Like Romeo and Juliet
11. Lilies and Roses
12. To Hell and Beyond


Line-up

vDiva - Lead Vocals & Guitar
Von Marengo - Guitars
Raul Sanchez - Bass
Hangman - Drums


Website

https://www.facebook.com/hellboulevard


Cover Picture

hellboulevard notsorry


Rating

Music: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 7 / 10




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