I’ll be honest and say I’ve listened to “Death Rattle & Roll” by Norwegian band HellHikers quite a lot over the past week or so because I’ve been a bit undecided about it. There are tracks that I really like (which is why I decided to download the promo copy originally) and others that I’m not so sure about. At the end of the day though I decided there was enough that I liked to make it worth a recommendation; and then you can decide for yourself from there! “Death Rattle & Roll” was released via Mighty Music on 15th April.


 

Reading the PR material I was able to figure out why I liked some tracks and others not so much. HellHikers biggest influence when they started back in 2003 were horror punk legends Misfits; and to be honest that’s not a genre I’m particularly fussed on. I’ve no problem with punk bands from the late 70’s / early 80’s such as the UK Subs, SLF and Dead Kennedys, but that’s about as far as I go with punk really. (Though I do think the “punk rock” label is applied rather loosely to some bands these days). So, when the press release mentions that the band have been moving back to their heavy metal / hard rock roots and that you’ll find as much Sabbath and Motorhead as Misfits in their sound now, it explains my mixed reactions to the album!

 

My favourite tracks would be “Death Rattle & Roll”, “Nite Stalker” and “Hellhoney”.


HellHikers are Rolf Royce on vocals, Rex Erection on drums, Roy Redrum on guitar and Per Perplex on bass!! Check out -https://www.facebook.com/hellhikers

 

About “NI Rocks Recommends”

The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!

My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are merely those that I would buy myself and which you’ll be hearing played on my shows on Rock Radio NI.

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