Rock didn’t originally aim to be pretty, and doubly so is true for heavy metal and punk and they rolled out of bed just a little more hungover and tattooed. Over the past 50 years of guitar music history, though, each genre has explored with finding expressions that lean on varying levels of beauty to contrast the grimy expressions, whether it be against the throes of blast beats and dissonant guitar squelches or simply the result of something more traditionally bright and major. Naturally, then, the opposite has developed—that which digs deeper into the mire of abrasive and confrontational sounds. Grindcore, powerviolence, noise, all modes of expression which, unless your name is Beaten to Death, toss aside any resolution or melody in favor of speed, loudness, and sonic expulsion. But guess what? Constant Hell does all three.
Constant Hell boasts a traditional no-frills punk setup: exploding limbs on drums, rapidly moving figures on a possibly tuned guitar, and an abused throat making a microphone regret its choice to exist. According to an interview, these three lovable dirtbags had a bassist for all of 25 minutes before they decided that “he sucked” and kept the lineup classic—besides, having a bassist would put them on the path to becoming Rush.1 Ironically, this debut release, Constant Hell, doesn’t even run as long as that tryout’s tenure—a touch longer than Rush’s “2112” though—barreling through 23 tracks in 23 minutes toeing the fine line between grindcore and powerviolence.2 Constant Hell, recorded bravely as live takes, summons an energy with an unmistakable stench of speed and human toilet bowl vocals.
However noisy Constant Hell may get, Constant Hell keeps an open can of heavy metal to anchor segments. While there’s some bluesy doom in the crashing guitar statements from get-go, “Nuclear Violence” marks the first turn of Constant Hell from being all noise and grind to embodying a rough-and-tumble early Venom atmosphere in sheer rockitude. Similarly “D-Beast,” an ode and twist of the simple punky staple, and “Steal from the Rich” interject sudden groovy slowdowns with straight power chord and bend-heavy riffs to break up the shrieking and swirling typhoon. This helps the traditional grind-foward sections (“86ed” to “Tear a Nazi in Two” being the most defined) land with a similar ferocity to From Enslavement to Obliteration-era Napalm Death but even briefer and run through a blender. Constant Hell can’t help but keep at least a little toe in musicality, choosing to close with “Last Words,” a 70s rock drum solo caught in the mosh of one-name Zack’s laryngeal slaughter.
To put it bluntly, though, Constant Hell sounds like shit, and I say that lovingly. It’s no easy feat to record clearly what was likely three loud setups facing directly at each other, so that Constant Hell remains listenable is surprising all on its own. The no-frills-monikered drummer Dan benefits the most from this capture, gaining a forceful acoustic urgency in his precise snare strikes, quick cymbal flutters, and natural kick thwop. Not true for the guitars and vocals, which register up front and loud as heck, neither presence finding itself in any better waters against the crushed master. Ringing chords, feedback squeals, low-end whammy accents, all cause various intensities of ugly pops and hisses (every song)—Dan’s snare and tom rolls at their most powerful can interrupt the signal (“Angel of Speed,” “Speed Beyond the Grave”). This already noise-laden music doesn’t need more of that. Truthfully, Constant Hell’s live videos plate this sound cleaner, not by miles but enough to cause confusion.
The energy of this scummy style compels despite Constant Hell packing few surprises. Most songs follow the same pattern of feedback to an idea that gets folded into a blast and snarl without any lyrics to accompany—you’d be silly to think that there would be. If you must, read the titles out loud while the songs are banging away. Regardless, Constant Hell has tried to take an art form reserved primarily for the corner of a dark and sticky bar with a five-dollar cover from the floor to the tape. I admire their courage, but I can’t help but wish that I could experience this slightly tossed, up too late, and dodging a solitary pit denizen who’s way too into it.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self Release
Websites: constanthell.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/constanthell
Releases Worldwide: July 14th, 2023
