HELL — Save us from Those who would Save us (review)

HELL — Save us from Those who would Save us album cover Single · 1983 · NWoBHM Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Time Signature
Metal squad...

Genre: progressively inclined heavy metal

I agree with Certif1ed's very positive evaluation of this NWOBHM release. The music on this demo single is really something else, and, had Hell not been struck by one tragedy after another (first the label that signed them went bankrupt and then one of their members committed suicide), they could perhaps have been just as big as Def Leppard, Saxon, or maybe even Iron Maiden.

The thing is, while the NWOBHM bands had a lot of enthusiasm and spirit, and certainly a lot of charm, most of them were not very good, and one of the reasons why Maiden became so successful is doubtlessly that they were lightyears ahead of most other NWOBHM bands. Now, on this demo release, Hell display a very high level of musicianship, surely matching that of Iron Maiden at the time, and like Maiden, the music is somewhat progressively inclined. It's really tragic that Hell didn't amount to more (but they've reformed with the intention of releasing a full-length album - so that's promising).

Anyway, the "Save Us From Those Who Would Save Us" title track is an uptempo hard-hitting, almost thrashy, track which, as Certif1ed points out can be compared to the works of Mercyful Fate (unlike Certif1ed, I think Mercyful Fate's music is generally better than this track , but it certainly is in the same territory of dark and semi-progressive heavy metal).

The other track "Death Squad" is an amazing progressively oriented instrumenta with numerous twists and turns and tempo changes and harmonies that would later be taken up by black metal and melodic death metal acts. This is a really really interesting track.

The production cannot be criticized - actually, it is quite good for an underground demo recorded in the late 1970s or early 1980s. I can imagine that those who are perhaps too young to have experienced that sort of production may have a hard time seing the value and greatness in this release.

Anyway, I'd recommend this to all fans of traditional heavy metal acts like Maiden and Mercyful and also progressive metal heads. It's a rarity, to be sure, but you can actually hear the tracks here on MMA.
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