This is Hell
Misfortunes

This is a record conceived, primarily, to be played live, to be thrown to a crowd eager to unleash themselves in terrifying circle/mosh pits, memorize the choruses and bring out the energy that such a sound proposal is capable of making emerge in all its strength. But this is also a record that turns out to be too redundant and which, strangely, for the standards of hardcore (especially if - as in this specific case - we are talking about old school), drags on longer than necessary, since a total duration of three-quarters of an hour ends up revealing the structural and instrumental repetitions quite clearly. That "Misfortunes", the second extended work for This Is Hell after their 2006 debut "Sundowning", is able to bring out a healthy passion and showcases the Long Island group's desire to opt for a wildly melodic path without seeking accommodating "new" or "trendy" solutions is a merit, but not enough to allow the album to achieve a score higher than just above average. Also because the HC of This Is Hell may be combative, massive, shouted, pounding, and steeped in work ethic, but there are very few surprises and often boredom is just around the corner, only pushed away by the "neck-breaking" sections, which save the quintet from a worse evaluation.