Formed in 2013 in Tokyo, Japan, Hell Freezes Over is a heavy/speed metal band. The band is proud to present their live album, Live After Corona, out now.

Live After Corona documents a band rearing to play to an energetic crowd, to reclaim something we all lost during the pandemic: human connection. The best live albums capture that particular magic of a band interacting with a crowd, and what better time to document that peculiar energy than after a global lockdown. On Live After Corona, Hell Freezes Over puts it all out there: speed metal recklessness, heavy metal swagger, and a little proto-thrash edginess. The results are pure fun, forty minutes of high octane heavy metal joy.

Review

Live After Corona opens with Hellraiser, an apt name for the track and for the way in which Hell Freezes Over comes out of the gates with speed and fury. The track roars into life with big chord hits and twin guitar leads that build, all while the crowd chants along to the beat. Right from the start, Live After Corona does a great job of displaying the band’s (and the crowd’s) live energy. After this build, Hellraiser erupts into Hell Freezes Over’s signature sound: speed metal with some of the tight riffage of proto-thrash and a good dose of pure heavy metal. It’s all great fun, and Hell Freezes Over pulls off these songs live with a ton of energy and enthusiasm.

Next up comes The Killing Floor, which brings with it a dose of speed metal madness in the form of some bombastic lead guitar riffs and high energy drumming. Gainer’s voice never seems to get exhausted, and this song brings a rowdy freneticism that must have had the crowd enraptured. If you like your speed metal on the punk side, then Hell Freezes Over has your number. The Killing Floor comes packed with fast finger work from the guitars and a killer solo. It’s worth mentioning here that the mixing on this live album is fantastic: there’s enough grit here to give you that sense of the band’s live energy, but the instruments all come through very cleanly.

Grant You Metal takes the spotlight next with a metric ton of heavy metal attitude. Injected into Hell Freezes Over’s electric speed metal is a little of the anthemic bombast of Accept and Saxon. Gainer’s voice perfectly drives this tune, adding to the fist-pumping chorus a number of yawps, wails, and shouts. Another stellar guitar solo breaks up the tune nicely, with this song being more than just a fantastic chance to shout “Grant you metal!” A highlight of the live set in my book.

This Is the War shows Hell Freezes Over pulling more from the thrash metal playbook, and they nail it. This song highlights Hell Freezes Over’s twin guitar approach to song writing, and the results are exhilarating. Some chunky, chugging riffage also makes this one a top notch headbanger. For the shortest song of the set, This Is the War makes a big splash with excellent riffing and some of Gainer’s best vocal performances.

Mirage wastes no time jumping into action, with more classic heavy metal riffs taking center stage. Hell Freezes Over knows how to distill their influences will still retaining their own sound, and this song pulls the most from the NWOBHM toolbox. Some very tasteful basswork also sets this one apart, with Ikumu stealing the spotlight on a few occasions throughout the song. Despite these songs tending toward the 5 minute mark, they feel short and sweet with high doses of energy carrying each track to the finish line.

Writing on the Wall kicks things off by again bringing the bass to the forefront, with Ikumu laying down a groovy bass line on which the guitars stack classic heavy metal riffing. Gainer’s vocals are at their best here, jumping between hoarse growling shouts and falsetto wails. There’s even a little Van Halen swagger in this tune – another one for the fans of that classic heavy metal and hard rock sound. World class guitar solos abound throughout this live set, with Hell Freezes Over clearly choosing from their catalogue to pick their most crowd pleasing songs for this set. Toward the end of this track, the drums take on a double time gallop while Gainer encourages the crowd to shout “hey” along, and it just demands headbanging!

For the penultimate track of the set, Hell Freezes Over slows things down a little with Eclipse, which kicks things off with a very Iron Maiden-esque bass groove and open, ringing guitar chords. Vocal harmonies give this slightly doom-y tune a heftier impact, and an off-kilter guitar solo brings even more character to the track. About halfway through, the drums and chugging guitars transition the song into a furious thrashing attack. Still, the song never climbs to the BPMs of the early tracks, and the set is more dynamic for it. A great choice for the second to last song.

Coming off of the slower and more plodding attack of Eclipse, Overwhelm kicks the door down with unadulterated speed metal glory.  The effect would be trance inducing if the song didn’t command you to bang your head right along with the drums. There is an addicting quality to the gang shouted “Overwhelm!” in the chorus. The crowd was primed for this moment, and you can hear their response in the chorus.

Conclusion

Live After Corona comes chock full of all the simple pleasures of speed and heavy metal: shouted choruses, chunky guitar riffage, groovy basslines, and enough attitude to fill the room in which Hell Freezes Over was playing. The recording beautifully captures the band’s sound, with a surprisingly clear fidelity. In the end, Live After Corona is pure fun: you’ll want to shout right along with the crowd here. Live albums also offer a kind of greatest hits approach that spotlights some of Hell Freezes Over’s most anthemic tunes. If you’re looking for a ripping good time, Hell Freezes Over has captured one on wax for you.

TheNWOTHM Score: 8.5/10 

Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellfreezesover.hfo/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellfreezesover_official/

Label: https://sleaszyrider.com/

Band: https://hellfreezesover.bandcamp.com/

Out now!

Current Line-up:
Hirotomo Isikawa – Guitars
Ryoto Arai – Guitars
Treble Gainer – Vocals
Ikumu – Bass
Nishi-da – Drums