Track Listing

1. Five kids go
2. Out of sight
3. Nightvision
4. Cut down
5. Few against many
6. Three of clubs
7. I can climb mountains
8. Disconnector
9. You drove me to it
10. Slow song
11. Sick/Happy
12. Retreat

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28310 in Music
• Released on: 2003-02-03
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Prior to the release of their own debut, The Neon Handshake, it must have been a bittersweet experience for Hell Is for Heroes to watch kindred spirits Hundred Reasons crack the UK Top 40, securing their critical position with a superb debut album. On one hand, it no doubt gave them hope that their own brand of intelligent, impassioned, post-emo breast beating could enjoy a similar fate. But on the other, they probably worried they were a crucial twelve months behind the zeitgeist. With two of Symposium in their ranks, they surely know how important timing can be in rock. Inevitably, The Neon Handshake is an extremely accomplished album that lurks a little too self-consciously in the shadow of Ideas Above Our Station. Songs such as "Out of Sight" and "Cut Down" follow the British post-hardcore model to the letter, lurching and screaming in all the familiar places. Far more affecting are the songs that strive to reach some kind of maturity. "Disconnected" is slight and subtle, while the singles "I Can Climb Mountains" and the particularly excellent "Night Vision" show an encouraging ability to layer musical and emotional tension. It's not quite the startling album that was hoped for then, but far worse debuts have led on to earth-shattering careers. --Ian Watson

CD Description
'Neon Handshake' is the debut album from the West London based band Hell Is For Heroes. Featuring members of ex-indie rockers, Symposium, the band play a brand of American style emotional hardcore, but with an added British edge. The albumincludes the singles 'I Can Climb Mountains', 'You Drove MeTo It', and 'Nightvision'.

Customer Reviews

possibly one of the most intelligent albums of all time
There are few words that can do justice to an album of such magnitude. Without a doubt the two stand-out tracks are 'I can climb mountains' and 'You drove me to it.' Each of these is a near perfect three-or-so minutes of British post-hardcore. If you thought Hundred Reasons were good then you are missing out on this far superior band. I challenge you to walk down any street listening to this album without walking tall with the kind of militant positivity that this band generate. There is no filler on 'The neon handshake'. Although the lyrics are intelligent the combination of this with the musical simplicity makes for one of the most inspirational and simultaneously ignored albums of our time. Much of the beauty lies in the simplicity of the musical structure of the album - littered with dropped-d tunings and tight drumming. The epiphany of this album is located from 2.12 to the end of 'You drove me to it' - 'they won't break me' is all the prospective listener needs to know about the evolution of the two former Symposium members and the attitude that they engender in their listeners.

Turn it up, turn it up loud...
Having heard their name fluttered about the music scene I awaited this debut with baited breath. Hailed as this year's Hundred Reasons, Hell is for Heroes are a no-nonsense rock outfit. The comparisons with Hundred Reasons are obvious, their breed of rock being fairly hard but with a refreshing British, almost indie-like edge.

The Neon Handshake is a step on from the HR album Ideas Above Our Station, the riffs are more intelligent, the chaos more subtle and the melodies are, well, more delicate and run deeper than simple riffing. HIFH's frontman has the same tendancy to scream as much as he sings, a la Colin Doran but his voice is stronger than the Hundred Reasons vocalist, rarely (if ever) faltering. The biggest difference to me is that HIFH are a much tighter band rhythmically. It seems their drummer is of a different class, and although the style of rock is different, it is worth comparing HIFH's rhythm section with that of the Deftones and A Perfect Circle. Even the production seems more suiting to the style, the Neon Handshake maintaining beautiful sonic balance whilst retaining the rawness of heavy rock, for example the ring on the snare drum really adds to the whole mood a dynamic of the song. This is all epitomised by the excellent single 'You Drove Me to It'.

There are some standout tracks here. 'Night Vision' borrows Placebo-esque drive and soaring melody, combining it with Deftones-like heaviness. 'I Can Climb Mountains' is arguably the album's best, fusing delicate chiming melody with all the angst and pure adrenaline of a Hundred Reasons track. 'Cut Down' and 'Few Against Many' are reasonable tracks, but amongst songs of such quality they seem a little lacklustre. This album exudes class, passion and ability from every pore.

The Neon Handshake is a thoroughly satisfying album to listen to. Although the lack of true originality means that this debut wont change the face of music, the material is brilliantly fresh. This is one to turn up loud...

Beautifully Abrasive Power...
Oh no. Not another this-years-biggest-thing.

Lots and lots were promised by this band. Symposium briefly rocked the western world, and when Hell is for Heroes began to tour, memories of that band came back.

So what to expect? More middle of the road guitar chunter with maybe one or two good songs (See also Hundred Reasons) or maybe some hardcore off the rails expressway-2-yr-skull rage (See also The Icarus Line). The reality, however, is so much more...

The stunningly names quintet bring much more to the table than their predecessors. With a couple of members in common with the 'Posium, the powerful crunching riffage is, of course, abundant, but it's the other ingredients which make this album so indispensable. The stunningly simple live opener Slow Song exemplifies the Hell is for Heroes sound, drifting from mellow, floating melody to crunching, violent peaks and back again.

The same can be said of stand out track Sick/Happy. This song shows other bands how to do the soft-hard-soft thing with stlye, originalty and, take note InMe, power and feeling. The hardest thing to believe about this song is that it was the first ever written by the band.

A special mention must go to Out Of Sight, for being one of the most powerful songs put on record since The Icarus Line told us to 'Feed A Cat to your Cobra'.

The singles are, in the most part, stunning. You Drove Me To It and I Can Climb Mountains are two of the most addictive and driving peieces of pure RoCk you are likely to hear this year, but the song Night Vision is relatively weak. That said, its still a stunning tune, just lacks the flair of the rest of the album.

Before we talk too much about the vitriol and power of this album, we have to rember the melodic side. Along with the aforementioned Slow Song, Disconnector and Few Against Many show up this side of the record, but to be honest, on every song on here, the melody struggles above the raging forests of feedback and glides gracefully like a bird...

If Hell is for Heroes, then these lads are heading straight for retirement in the devilish clutches of Belezebub, because if this debut is anything to go by, we may just be dealing with the new heroes of British rock.

Five stars, the first of 2003.