While the music press rapped lyrical about the (so-called) British rock revolution in 2002, Hell Is For Heroes were waiting patiently for their turn. Rushing out 'The Neon Handshake' would have been excusable, but waiting for the hype to subside will only make the band's inevitable impact more memorable. Timing is everything.
Still, you wouldn't have thought it was time for such an American sounding album. HIFH embrace the nu-metal ethos more than most in their love of jarring riffs, soaring choruses and that old nugget of melodic quiet/loud guitars. Slinging a catchy title round that lot isn't easy. The best bet is to avoid looking for a handy phrase, as you're bound to get your 'nu', 'emo' and 'hardcore' in a twist.
Indeed, HIFH no nonsense rock liberally pillages from a host of styles and, by rights, shouldn't sound as good as it does. There's plenty of noise here, but not just for the sake of it. You'll hear the sound of a radio-friendly Deftones alongside the heavy end of the indie rock spectrum that Idlewild will be cursing their failure to ever generate consistently.
The lyrics are suitably meaningful if you look hard enough, but bland if you don't. Yet, somehow youthful exuberance, a driven, level-headed approach, a couple of Swedish hardcore producers and a heavyweight US management behind them, makes all the difference. It leaves HIFH looking after the most important area - writing good music.
And that's exactly what they've done, using the riff-heavy anthemic template as a springboard. Singles 'Night Vision', 'I Can Climb Mountains' and the latest 'You Drove Me To It', are first-rate, but hardly outstanding in the context of 'The Neon Handshake'. They've teased listeners while keeping plenty under wraps - another smart move. Having twelve possible singles available is not only a sign of their quiet confidence but tells you that there's not an ounce of fat here. 'Three Of Clubs' and the awesome 'Disconnector', amongst others, are poised to dent the Top 40 at will.
As far as the bigger picture is concerned, HIFH have definitely stolen a march on Lostprophets - the last tips of international success - skipping the 'potential' stage and flourishing into the fully formed article in one attempt. Being less distracted by magazine covers and low-slung jeans has certainly helped but 'The Neon Handshake' rarely dips in quality for one second. And that's a highly commendable effort, especially for a band who've only been together since 2000.
So, this is probably one of the debut albums of the year. It's almost certainly going to be one of the rock albums of the year. But more importantly, we've got a British band to take the Americans on at their own game. Catch them while you can.
by Chris Heath