UMUR "Curse & Chapter" is the 2nd full-length studio album by UK heavy metal act Hell. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in November 2013. The lineup who recorded "Human Remains (2011)" remain the same on "Curse & Chapter". Hell were initially active in the eighties and were weeks away from recording their debut album when their label (Mausoleum) collapsed which subsequently led to Hell disbanding. Guitarist Dave Halliday comitted suicide shortly after. However the remaining members of the band reunited in 2008 and renowned producer and former Sabbat guitarist Andy Sneap joined as the band´s new axeman.

With "Curse & Chapter", Hell make it abundantly clear that "Human Remains (2011)" wasn´t just a one-off reunion album and that they are pursuing the momentum they created with that album. Stylistically "Curse & Chapter" more or less continues the NWoBHM tinged heavy metal style that was introduced on "Human Remains (2011)". There are still nods toward artists like Iron Maiden (listen to the instrumental "Deathsquad" for proof of that) and Judas Priest, but also toward more "occult" artist like Mercyful Fate/King Diamond and Witchfinder General. The band performs the music with passion and conviction and lead vocalist David Bower´s reeks madness and desperation in addition to aggression. His dramatic/theatrical delivery (which is occasionally spiced up by eerie spoken interludes) is a major part of the band´s distinct sound. Keyboards are used occasionally as well as choirs, but this is predominantly guitar, bass, drums and vocal dominated music.

The material are generally well written, instantly memorable and damn catchy. Tracks like "The Age of Nefarious", "Darkhangel", the Race Against Time cover "Harbinger of Death" and the Sanctuary/King Diamond influenced "Something Wicked This Way Comes" are among the highlights, but there are no weak tracks on the album. The sound production (handled by Andy Sneap) is a typical, powerful and clear Andy Sneap production. While the sound production is a very professional piece of work, and especially the guitar tone is edgy and muscular in a very powerful fashion, I still think music like this works slightly better with a more gritty sound production, but mind you that´s a purely subjective observation, and most people will pretty surely enjoy the sound on "Curse & Chapter" without ever thinking about such things.

Upon conclusion "Curse & Chapter" is another great album by Hell. Fans of the band will not be disappointed. Hell have refined their sound a little more since "Human Remains (2011)", but othwerwise kept the great features from that album. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Warthur Curse and Chapter by Hell combines gleefully infernal lyrics (reminiscent of Venom with a more clever sense of humour) with excellent NWOBHM-inspired metal with a few mild thrash touches here and there. I never thought I'd hear a Satanic metal band do a Hair parody, but Age of Nefarious pulls it off with gusto. Hell failed to put out a debut album during the original NWOBHM era through a combination of accident (their record label collapsed mere weeks before they were supposed to go into the studio) and tragedy (the suicide of Dave Halliday), but with this album they've produced a release which could go round for round with any classic NWOBHM album you could care to name. Finally, Hell reigns supreme.

siLLy puPPy My mother always told me I was possessed by the devil and that I would burn in hell showering me with Catholic guilt trips like there's no tomorrow but if this was the soundtrack to such a place then I would surely gladly spend my eternity soul afire as long as the sound system was large and classic metal music in the form of CURSE & CHAPTER was rocking the lava pits with all the intensity allowed under the sacred scriptures of the Underworld. HELL is back and rocking the world above and below with a vengence!

After a tumultuous beginning in the 80s that led to the band breaking up before the release of their first album and the suicide of the their lead singer, HELL made a come back in 2011 with their long-awaited first album HUMAN REMAINS. Rave reviews and a cult following made the album somewhat of a hit and luckily we didn't have to wait another 30 years for album number two. This album is a continuation of the previous only everything has been perfected. It is half old re-recorded material and half new but it all fits together like a snug jigsaw puzzle.

Seriously it doesn't get any better than this and everything about this release screams out instant classic in every possible way. The songs are top notch with satisfying diversity and the perfect progressive balance of metal styles including NWOBHM, thrash, power, symphonic, gothic, speed, doom, black and even Spinal Tap comedic moments like the “Age Of Aquarius” line in “The Age Of Nefarious.” All instruments are played with an uncanny zeal and David Bower has the best vocal range i've heard in a long time. Even the awesome album cover art and booklet are perfect. This album really gives melodic metal a serious kick in the assssssssss!

I have just heard one of my new favorite albums! 6 stars rounded waAay up ;~p HELL yeah!

Kev Rowland Hell were viewed as an important underground band in the Eighties, but when the label they had signed to folded two weeks before they were due to record their full-length debut, singer Dave Halliday committed suicide. The band stopped, and no-one ever expected to hear any more from them, but their name had been kept in the public domain, most notably by guitarist/ producer Andy Sneap. In 2011 he and David Bower (vocals) joined original members Kev Bower (guitar and keys), Tony Speakman (bass) and Tim Bowler (drums) to record the debut album at last. There was a very positive response to the outcome (and it reached #46 in the German charts) but no-one was sure if it was just a one-off or if there would ever be more material. Well, the guys have been touring a great deal and the feeling is that Hell were once again a band, as opposed to a project, so back into the studio they went. The new album is comprised of 50% old material, and 50% new, but it isn’t possible to state which is which as it is a complete piece of work. Andy has built a reputation over the years as a producer, and along with Colin Richardson is one of the ones that I personally rate most highly in this field, so I knew what the sound was going to be punchy and powerful, but what about the music?

Hell were a band that passed me by first time around, so I am hearing all this material for the first time, and really the only thing to do with an album like this is just put it on repeat and keep playing it, as it is simply awesome. Imagine a slightly more commercial version of Iron Maiden combined with some of the heavier elements of Uriah Heep and you may just get close to what these guys are like, but of course don’t forget the vocals of Davis Bower who has been paying a lot of attention to classic Raven as well. The first time I played this I burst out laughing during the song “The Age of Nefarious” as there is a direct musical steal from the classic 5th Dimension “Age of Aquarius” in the chorus, just the one line but I wonder how many of people younger than me will get it? In many ways it sums up the album for me as there is the impression of five guys out there not only paying respect to what they did before but creating something that is brand new and incredibly powerful while having fun doing so.

There have been some incredible metal albums released during 2013, but this is one of the finest.

adg211288 Curse & Chapter (2013) is the second full-length studio album by UK heavy metal act Hell. Hell were a band that were originally around in the eighties and included as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, although I do believe that I read somewhere that Hell tend to distance themselves from the movement. Their early career spawned a few demo releases but ultimately ended in 1987, following which frontman Dave G. Halliday committed suicide. Hell was resurrected by the surviving members in 2008 and eventually went on to release their debut full-length album Human Remains in 2011, almost thirty years after their initial formation with the line-up completed by David Bower (vocals) and Andy Sneap (guitars). It was always unclear to me at the time whether Human Remains would ultimately be the band's only release; it was made up entirely of their old material, but given how good it was I for one am glad that the guys have stuck with it and produced Curse & Chapter.

Although it was released in 2011 and had the benefit of a modern sound production and a major record label behind it, Human Remains always struck me as an album that, had it been released in the late eighties, would have been before it's time. It was theatrical, occasionally progressive, and epic all the way. It was also heavy on the narration, which was the only aspect of the album which didn't sit quite right with me. Curse & Chapter is once again all of these things, except that Hell has cut their narration parts down to a minimum as well as seeming to have upped the progressive qualities in their songs, the back to back pairing of The Disposer Supreme and Darkangel being the most prime examples.

The album picks up where Human Remains left off, quite literally, with a reprise of the debut's closing narration before launching into the introductory instrumental Gehennae Incendiis and lead single The Age of Nefarious. It doesn't take any more than this to put to rest any doubts over whether Human Remains was just the work of a band relying on their old songs to see them through. A few older songs from their demo days have made their way onto Curse & Chapter, but for the most part the album represents Hell fully integrating themselves with the present day metal scene, and it's to wondrous results as well as no doubt teaching said scene something about metal along the way. The music is absolutely furious traditional heavy metal, with no room for playing nice and tame and The Age of Nefarious in particular is an instant arse-kicker.

Special mention must be given to David Bower, whose theatrical yet aggressive vocal style fits perfectly over the riff-driven music, which in itself has a nod here and there to a number of different metal genres; pretty much anything you like from symphonic to extreme metal. Bower did somewhat strike me as an acquired taste on Human Remains but that's not a vibe I get from his performance on Curse & Chapter. Instead there's an air that this is a man who knows how to put on a show, even when that show is a studio album, and more to the point knows that he's good at it. There's no doubt in my mind that David Bower gave the male vocal performance of the year on this album.

And the album simply does not allow itself to relent on even a single aspect of what makes it so great from start to finish. I had previously proclaimed the debut album of Hell's label-mates Ashes of Ares as the best traditional heavy metal release of 2013 but it seems I am now going to have to retract that statement and instead apply it to Curse & Chapter. This is simply not to be missed if you are a fan of heavy metal in any shape or form. It betters Human Remains by the fact that the songs aren't too drawn out with narration, allowing them to get to the point hell of a lot quicker with no falloff between them. The material is faithful to their sound on Human Remains, but sounds honed by experience in comparison. Saying it is powerful doesn't even begin to cover it. With this they firmly cement their reputation as a top tier band and a five star range rating is easily deserved for Curse & Chapter.

98/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/hell-curse-chapter-t3287.html)