Discography
Lost Souls (Feb 2020)
1. The Possession.
2. He Who Walks Behind The Rows
Lost Souls is a collection of A Living Hell’s first couple of singles from 2020. They are a great introduction to the band as they certainly embody everything that Jason has talked about when it comes to horror influences. "The Possession" is a pop-punk ode to one of his favourite movies, The Exorcist. Almost composed as a love song, it incorporates flashes of fast punk throughout. "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" is, of course, themed around Stephen King’s Children Of The Corn with a darker, moodier lyrical feel. Yet, it still retains a bright ‘90s pop-punk attitude.
“Out For Blood” (May 2021)
A fast-paced, straight-up punk rock song heavily influenced by bands like No Use For A Name or Strung Out, that is thankfully more True Blood then it is Twilight when it comes to the vampire-themed lyrics. With a bit of romance to it without going over the top, it has a great slower middle section with some haunting “woahs” and strong guitar.
“All I Have” (Sept 2021)
With a slower acoustic start but building up to their familiar fast punk, "All I Have" is their first stab at real horror rather than fiction. Despite the subject, they seem to have a positive spin on everything, a common theme in their songs. Again, it's played straight-up but this song has some great angsty, shouty vocals.
“Cold & Blue” (acoustic) (May 2022)
Acoustic punk has its merits. The music is fairly simple yet jingly and bright but, in this instance, the vocals do the hard work. Luckily, Jason has a fantastic voice and great vocal range especially for this style yet he really knows how to shout when he needs to. "Cold & Blue" is kind of similar to "All I Have," as in it's a song that faces real horror in the form of childhood trauma.
“Spark Of Life” (June 2022)
A very lively ‘90s angsty punk rock number that shifts things about a bit by going into full-on shout mode for the mid-section, ending with a classic chord ring to a fade out.
“The Priest Is Dead” (Oct 2022)
Probably their heaviest intro with a great rumbling, prominent bassline, “The Priest Is Dead” is another visit into possession territory which is always a good thing. With their now signature dark lyrical content, yet happy delivery with that bright punk rock sound, this song incorporates a great split vocal line of singing and shouting.
“Hail Santa” (Dec 2022)
With some festive jingly bells and a great narrative take on "Twas The Night Before Christmas" poem, "Hail Santa" is really a lot of fun. It has that technical punk rock twang of No Use For A Name again but they do it so very well. A suitably dark but humourous song for the Christmas season.
A Living Hell are the ultimate nostalgia trip. Their influences are totally from my era of punk rock. You can hear everything from NoFx, Green Day, Goldfinger, Strung Out and the aforementioned No Use For A Name and Alkaline Trio in their sound. It's a sound that was so fresh and new at the time but had lost its way by the mid 2000s. A Living Hell have successfully brought this style back and added their own twist in the form of dark tales of horror movies and real life tragedy with a great lively and happy feel. They are keeping it fresh and up to date whilst still honouring the artists that shaped their style. Their choice of artwork is very on point with their style and attitude by using bright, colours, black backgrounds and silhouettes in a kind of retro yet modern tattoo art fashion. I am grateful that bands like A Living Hell are out there fully embracing the great punk rock of the ‘90s and doing things how they want to. A Living Hell have a bright future ahead of them and if you want to be a part of that then go check them out at a live show if you can or if not visit their social and/or bandcamp page and support DIY music!
