RATING: RRR
LABEL: SELF RELEASE
REVIEW BY: ALAN HOLLOWAY
British retro rockers Hell's Gazelles are not, as the name suggests, a female AC/DC tribute band. Seriously, I can't be the only one who has thought that. A band that have done all the hard work themselves, they have to be congratulated on how far they have come, and this, their second self released EP, is an eagerly awaited slice of rock pie in many places.
Way back in the first paragraph I mentioned the word 'retro', and it's rather appropriate with Hell's Gazelles. The five tracks of 'Take Your Medicine' are decidedly old school metal, though not of the grunting, satan worshipping variety, thankfully. The problem with retro metal is that it can be hard to make it really shine. Some bands manage it pretty well (Jack Starr, The Darkness), but plenty of others manage to sound like the sort of band that would have graced 'Kerrang!' in the early 80s but ultimately end up as no more than a footnote in metal history. Chrome Molly, I'm looking at you here...
As you may have surmised from the rating, Hell's Gazelles fall into the latter catagory, but are not without their charms. When they get things just right, such as on the title track, it's all rather enjoyable, but that track is the exception rather than the norm, and the other four tracks are punchy enough but not fight winners. Vocalist Cole Bryant has a really nice voice for this sort of music and the production is nice and clear, but desopite repeated listen I just can't get over excited about this one. I reckon they'd be fun live, though...
Official band Site
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