Thirteenth Hell Level

T.H.L.

Italian Hard Rock band T.H.L use the combination of Hard Rock style riffing and drum […]
By Claire Taylor
June 14, 2015
T.H.L. - Thirteenth Hell Level album cover

Italian Hard Rock band T.H.L use the combination of Hard Rock style riffing and drum work, with rich soul style vocals, which at times, work incredibly well. This ten track album shows off some great talents and even a cheeky and well done cover of STEPPENWOLF'S "Born to Be Wild".

The most interesting thing about this band has got to be the vocals, alongside the music. I think at certain points, the vocals can almost be overpowering. However, my mind will be changed when they introduce a well-executed guitar solo, for example in "Honky Tonk Woman". The bass is certainly not ignored in this album as the track mentioned above and their fifth track "Erythroxylum" embraces those bassy undertones.  Although they are Hard Rock, it is hard to ignore Blues, Soul and even slight Progressive tones.

These guys have some blatant raw energy and passion which really shows in their music. In particular, "War", which upholds a indescribable amount of energy. However, I liked the fact that not all their songs had this rapid energy as "Somewhere" embraces a much more reflective tone and a slower pace. I thought the vocals worked better in this song than any of the others. There were noticeably some really impressive but subtle harmonies embedded in this track and a great acoustic guitar solo which worked really well towards the tone of this song. The Following track "Forget" pushes you back into that excitable energy they put across on their previous tracks, also using classic Hard Rock and almost Thrashy riffs.

Although their are some serious vocal talents here, I can't help but think that the style of voice could work better with another style of music as they seem quite overpowering in comparison to the rest of the music. This is a shame because each member has noticeable talent. Overall, this was a unique and interesting listen with some surprises here and there!<

5 / 10

Mediocre

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"Thirteenth Hell Level" Track-listing:

1. Master Domino
2. Born To Be Wild
3. Really Cruel
4. Honky Tonk Woman
5. Erythroxylum
6. Longway To Redemption
7. War
8. Somewhere
9. Forget
10. Sociopathic

T.H.L. Lineup:

Simone "Duff" - Bass
Fiore "Flow" - Guitar
Gabri - Guitar
Fede - Vocals
Luca - Vocals
Luca "Clava" - Drums

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