Hellwell is a new band formed by Heavy
Metal Legend Mark Shelton, member of the mighty Manilla Road. And you’ll probably be
reading all over the web and the magazines many comparisons between Manilla Road
and Hellwell; the latter being presented as Manilla Road’s “evil twin”.
That statement isn’t exactly
aberrant, but it’s pretty unfair to Hellwell, since the band is not just about
Mark Shelton developing some dark sort of Manilla Road.
Hellwell was actually named after E.C Hellwell, the band's bassist and
keyboardist. The man
is also a horror novelist, whose work has strongly inspired Mark Shelton for Manilla
Road. The Acheronomicon Suite that closes this album was also originally one of
his short stories that Shelton has adapted. The guy has also co-written most of
the songs, and therefore Hellwell is pretty much his band too. Jonny Benson completes the line up on drums.
Hellwell is also extremely important
when it comes to the band’s sound; because although Shelton’s guitars are
obviously super important, the fantastic organ and other keyboards often lead
the dance and help creating a unique sound (at least a sound that is different
from Manilla Road) that perfectly reflects the typical horror-movie atmosphere.
Really, that’s what I appreciated the most when listening to Beyond The Boundaries
Of Sin. Just listen to the opener “The Strange Case Of Dr Henry Howard Holmes” or the final "End Of Days" and you’ll immediately get my point!
But Hellwell being an important
member of the band doesn’t mean that Shelton is invisible. His guitar-riffs are
amazing, twisted, heavy and even a bit more violent that the stuff he plays in
Manilla Road. He also managed to inject a huge dose of that epic feeling he
masters so much. His solos are also as fantastic as they’ve always been, filled
with feeling and intensity.
These two guys managed to
perfectly mix their talents and create something really interesting and
original here. That record should have been one this year’s highlights;
especially now that everybody’s so crazy about dark Heavy Metal.
I’m guessing you’re wondering why
it should have been a highlight. The
thing is, this record has an unbelievably bad sound. Mark Shelton handled the
production, and just like on Manilla Road’s last record, Playground Of The
Damned, the sound is extremely muffled, with triggered drums and VERY dirty guitars.
I understand they wanted a nasty and organic sound, but they ended up totally
killing the power and the impact of the songs.
One last word about Shelton’s
vocals; which again, I think, are a little too extreme. He sort of screams/sings like a
gargoyle but I really think more of the epic and “clean” vocals could have given more impact to the
songs (the choruses are really awesome though).
All in all, this first Hellwell
release is extremely interesting, and although Beyond The Boundaries Of Sin has some flaws, I really enjoyed playing it very loud, as each song overflows with top-notch musicality, Heavy Metal power and that typical epic feeling Mark Shelton masters so much.
By
the way, the final suite (the last three songs) called Acheronomicon is such a fantastic
illustration of that; clearly the record’s top moment.
Fans of Epic Metal; there’s
another Shadow Kingdom release you need to check out! (you can listen
to the album and make up your own opinion right here).
Yath
