New Band of the Week: HELL CAN WAIT

Brighton melodic hardcore act HELL CAN WAIT are leading the revival of UK melodic hardcore, perfecting a powerful and emotive sound that they describe as “sincere, evocative and earnest.”

The lineup of Luke (vocals), Leon and DJ (guitars), James (bass) and Jordan (drums) all grew up in the same metal and alternative circles and formed during the pandemic in 2021 out of a mutual love of UK melodic hardcore. In their words: “It just made sense for us to come together with this shared passion and try to create something that’s impactful, nostalgic, and helps introduce a younger generation into the scene!”

And describing the sound they’ve honed, they told us: “Take everything you love about early 2000s to 2010s melodic hardcore, the raw passion, energy and emotion with a modern twist thrown over the top. Our music is powerful, dynamic and engaging, we really want to push and pull with our music while giving people the sense of nostalgia we all love.”

Our first taste of this was their recent single Shine, which was released in September. It dives straight into the thick stuff with intense screamed vocals, heavy drums and a little riff that kicks into a powerful chorus. That drops into slower chords before flying back into another chorus, which ends on big chugging chords and heavy yet engaging vocals. The pace drops again with drawn-out guitars, then big crashes of cymbal lead into a stabbing guitar riff, which gives way to a mellow melodic section. Heavy guitar chords and a lick jump in supporting more intense vocals, which tee up a lively conclusion.

On the track, the band told us: “All our recent singles have been what we feel is a healthy transition in the honing of our sound as a band. Shine is no exception to this, it really covers all the bases for the sound we are aiming to achieve, from fast energetic sections, spacey roomy clean parts and there’s even a breakdown in there which is something a little new for us.

“We’re all stoked with how it’s been received, it’s always reassuring and very humbling to hear people wanting more and that they’re invested in the direction we’re taking.” Check it out in the video here:

Since then, they released Drowning In You on November, which forms part of a five-track EP 2023 that came out last week. Drowning In You opens up with a delicious driving riff and drums supporting fast-paced vocals. A huge cry of “Drowning in you” gives way to big booming guitars and a piercing guitar lick that drop into a heavy chorus. Check it out in the video here:

There’s plenty more music to get your teeth into, including the band’s 2021 debut EP LOVE.LOSS.HOPE.FEAR. There’s also a strong back catalogue of singles like the excellent Mother Mercy, which comes to an intense conclusion, and a personal favourite Regression, which you can check out in the video here:

And there’s much more to come as HELL CAN WAIT gear up for the release of their debut album. As they explain: “The production process of our debut full length is well and truly underway, we’ve been heads down in that for a few months now and that will continue well into the new year. You’re going to have to wait a little while to hear the fruits of that labour, but we’re extremely excited for it to all come together!”

The HELL CAN WAIT sound is shaped by their mutual love 2000s and 2010s melodic hardcore, including bands like Killing The Dream, Landscapes, The Carrier, VERSE, Life Long Tragedy, More Than Life and Your Demise. But there’s also plenty of diversity in their musical tastes, with Jordan being a huge Bullet For My Valentine fan, Leon being big into metalcore like It Prevails and Killswitch Engage, Luke loving hardcore and metalcore, and DJ and Jim being partial to some country music.

And when it comes to writing music, the band told us: “There’s a really open and honest approach regarding the themes we write about; mental health, self discovery, internal and external struggles. We all experience these in our own ways and for us, like so many, music is such an important outlet in making sense of it all.

“We hope that by being transparent in using our own experiences through our music, people find something they can also resonate with. There’s an underlying message of hope within everything we produce; life is often unpredictable and turbulent, but through determination and patience it always gets better.”

You can see HELL CAN WAIT playing live with Rosehill and DXWNSIDES for the third installment of the Modern Hardcore ‘A Weekend Of Melodic Hardcore’ event. That kicks off at The Underground in Stoke on 6 December before Yellow Arch Studios in Sheffield on 7 December, Vortex Nightclub in Wakefield on 8 December, Subside in Birmingham on 9 December and Latest Music Bar in Brighton on 10 December.

And the band add: “We’re all incredibly passionate about what we put into HELL CAN WAIT, extremely fortunate to work with incredible people while making some great friends along the way. We look forward to taking you on our journey with us. This is the UK melodic hardcore revival, this is HELL CAN WAIT.”

You can follow HELL CAN WAIT on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp and Apple Music.