Hell in the Club are nothing if not consistent, over the course of twelve years, 5 previous albums, and 1 E.P. They’ve cemented themselves as one of the very best and most unique bands in the modern hard rock movement. These guys have exceptional playing with an excellent sense of melody, their songs are energetic and powerful, and singer Dave Moraz is one of the more unique modern singers in the genre.
Hell in the Club have perfected walking the line between staying true to their sound while offering artistic evolution, Every album they’ve released offered something new musically while continuing the sound they’re known for, so how does F.U.B.A.R stand up to their impressive catalog?
In my view this album is everything that is great about Hell in the Club distilled into a non stop thrill ride.
The album starts off with their first single: “Sidonie” a track with riffs that wouldn’t have felt out of place on Crashdiet’s masterpiece Rest In Sleaze, the verses sections are vintage Crashdiet but the chorus is pure Devil On My Shoulders era Hell in the Club.
“The Arrival” is a mid tempo rocker that has a great danceable groove to it, the solo in this song is excellent. One of the things I love about hard rock is that a great hard rock guitarist injects a lot of melody into the solo, it’s less about how fast you play and more about what you do with the notes and what you’re expressing with them and Hell in the Club guitarist Picco has an absolutely phenomenal gift for melody in his playing.
“Total Disaster” starts quiet before roaring out of the speakers with a great street level rocker that would make L.A. Guns proud, the rhythm section of bassist Andy and Drummer Mark really shines on this track with a thundering backbeat that really drives the song.
“The Kid” exists somewhere musically between Eclipse and W.A.S.P with its brighter rocking melodies and charging riffs, this song really grooves.
“Best Way Of Life” sounds very inspired by early Motley Crue, Back when they were more raw and less commercial.
“Cimitero Vivente” is one of my favorite songs on the album, it’s a charging anthem with excellent rhythms and great time changes. Looking this up it translates in Italian to Pet Semetary, Hell in the Club are from Italy by the way, Further continuing their tradition of doing a song centered around a movie or comic book character. I may possibly have that one wrong but regardless it’s a fantastic track.
“Sleepless” is an upbeat rocker with a great solo and a great acoustic bridge, another song that shows of their rhythm section, this album needs to be heard on a speaker that has at least a fair bass sound to pick up the musical richness that every member is bringing to the table on this album.
“The End Of It All” goes back into Crashdiet territory in the verses but the chorus has almost a slight Alice In Chains quality, Dave’s voice isn’t often in this lower range in this band and when coupled with the other vocal harmonies it’s absolutely spectacular. there’s another great solo here before going back into those charging riffs.
“Undertaker” is classic Hell in the Club, this is the sort of high energy, down and dirty, epic barrel of incendiary riffs with powerful vocals that these guys are known for.
“Tainted Sky” is presently my favorite song on this album, it’s like Def Leppard and Bloody heels had a musical child. The playing on this song is absolutely awesome, great melodies, interesting breakdowns and time changes. I wouldn’t say it’s as much of a departure as some of the stuff they’ve surprised listers with in the past, But it’s the most different sounding track on the album.
“Embody The Sacrifice” slows things down a bit while still being a rocking track and Dave sings in a lower register again to great effect.
Honestly, these guys never disappoint. F.U.B.A.R. is everything that makes Hell in the Club great distilled into a very potent record, Proving yet again why they’re among the best of the new breed of hard rock bands.
9/10