{"id":29795,"date":"2022-11-22T09:48:34","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T09:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/?p=29795"},"modified":"2022-11-22T09:48:34","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T09:48:34","slug":"gig-review-hells-addiction-at-the-musician-friday-11th-november-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/gig-review-hells-addiction-at-the-musician-friday-11th-november-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Gig review – Hell’s Addiction at The Musician, Friday 11th November 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

with Projekt Mayhem and The Big Dirty<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a cold, wet, sombre Friday night in Leicester, but there\u2019s reason to go out..\u2026. Hells Addiction are back in town playing a hometown show at the Musician and are breaking in a new guitarist.<\/p>\n

Hells Addiction are stalwarts and local heroes of the Leicester music scene and have been busy since their 2010 formation. Describing themselves as a 5-piece balls-out hard rock band and the bastard child of an illicit three-way between Skid Row, early-Guns N\u2019 Roses & AC\/DC.<\/p>\n

The venue was packed with leather-clad, hard rock faithful ready to forget the monotony of the week just passed, let their hair down and put their fists in the air.<\/p>\n

Opening act, Northampton\u2019s The Big Dirty<\/strong><\/a>, took to the stage with their thundering opener Dirty Rider<\/em> which set the tone of the evening with its big riffs, pounding drums and infectious groove. Over which lead singer Jonny blasted out his powerful vocals including a tom cat howl that would put Axl Rose to shame.<\/p>\n

To this reviewer, The Big Dirty seem to have a mix of LA sleaze rock from the 80s combined with some good old British 70\u2019s rock. Their bassist\u2019s tone is very reminiscent of a certain, now departed bassist of Mot\u00f6rhead<\/span>. The bassist also sings but instead of being front and center he was able to compliment lead vocalist Jonny with some strong harmonies which added to their overall sound.<\/p>\n

The band put on a good show, even if some of the stage theatrics were a bit cliched, but it is to be expected with this genre and the crowd were lapping it up. Particularly the whiskey which was delivered directly into the mouths of those at the front via water gun during the track \u2018Whiskey Pistol\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Big Dirty Bourbon gun. Photo (c) Kevin Gaughan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Throughout the set I was impressed by the wall of sound considering the band are just a 4 piece, the guitar, bass and drums work well together to provide a strong foundation over which the melodies are delivered and the guitar in particular was executed well ensuring no drop in in attack during the solos.<\/p>\n

Stand out tracks were Light Weight Champion<\/em>, Crimson<\/em> and a cover of Chris Isaak\u2019s Wicked Game<\/em>\u00a0but played more menacingly as if Chris Isaak had written it based on a bad Tinder date rather than the heartfelt, tender, emotive feel of the original.<\/p>\n

If you like your rock big, dirty and sexy\u2026.then The Big Dirty are the band for you.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Big Dirty. Photo (c) Kevin Gaughan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next band to grace the stage were Leicester\u2019s own Projekt Mayhem<\/strong><\/a> featuring some well-known faces from the Leicester music scene and a member who we would be seeing on stage again later in the evening.<\/p>\n

I was familiar with Projekt Mayhem, having caught their set at Firebug back in August, so I knew what to expect but it would be interesting to see how they would go down amongst the crowd tonight. Especially given they were a female fronted band and were following an almighty bout of testosterone that was left behind by The Big Dirty.<\/p>\n

Kicking odd with Signs<\/em> it was clear that Projekt Mayhem had nothing to fear and fit perfectly onto this bill with lead singer Jo more than holding her own with her strong vocals, impressive melodies and stagecraft.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Projekt Mayhem. Photo (c) Kevin Gaughan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Projekt Mayhem had something more to offer than the other two bands on the bill, their songs had a bit more complexity to them and were well constructed. You could tell everyone was playing to the song and not serving their own ego, each track had its own feel and style but was very clearly performed by the same band. Guitarist Dan Weir, who would feature again tonight, stood out with his impressive guitar work and tight harmonies.<\/p>\n

Again, as a 4 piece, there was a distinct level of power to their sound that comes from the level of musicianship on show and the way each member gelled together.<\/p>\n

Stand-out tracks were Clich\u00e9<\/em>, TV<\/em> and set closer Kylie<\/em> which was this reviewer\u2019s particular favourite. The track builds on a bass motive which breaks into an incredible chorus and is a definite earworm. A great song and a great way to end their set.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Projekt Mayhem. Photo (c) Kevin Gaughan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Projekt Mayhem are creating their own sound and it was good to see them perform live again in another incredible Leicester venue. This mayhem was a joy to behold.<\/p>\n

And so it was time, we had been building up to this\u2026. the crowd were perfectly lubricated over the past few hours drinking and ready to sing along to the balls-out rock that was about to commence.<\/p>\n

Hells Addiction<\/strong><\/a> walked onto the stage following a dramatic opening backing track, primed and ready they burst into Gimme A Sign<\/em>. The crowd responded, heads were banging, women were dancing and horns were held high.<\/p>\n

Their sound is definitely inspired by the bands mentioned above and Hells Addiction have no problem wearing these influences on their sleeve.<\/p>\n

The dual guitar attack of Dan Weir (also of Projekt Mayhem) and newby Darren Moulds, who recently joined following the departure of founder member Liam Sargent, provided an impressive array of hard-hitting riffs and blistering solos in which they traded throughout each song.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Hell’s Addiction. Photo (c) Kevin Gaughan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Backed up by a tight rhythm section channelling their inner Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams, the band put on a captivating show with singer Ben Sargent wowing the audience with his stunning vocal range and command of the stage.<\/p>\n

The band played through an energetic set which featured plenty of strong choruses that were catchy enough to have you singing along. The music is perfectly designed to let you switch off your brain and let you engage fully with the band.<\/p>\n

Stand-out tracks were On the Road Again<\/em>, Masking the Pain<\/em>, Save Me<\/em> and Free Your Mind<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Hell’s Addiction. Photo (c) Kevin Gaughan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The hard-hitting riffage was interspersed by the track Masterplan<\/em> which was a slower more introspective track and again demonstrated Ben\u2019s impressive vocals, which on his lower register reminded this reviewer of Joshua Todd from Buckcherry and displayed that the band had more depth to them than just being a balls-out hard rock band.<\/p>\n

The set was well constructed and ended on a high note (literally) in closer The Way I Feel<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Hell’s Addiction. Photo (c) Kevin Gaughan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The band took pause for a minute before returning to the stage for an encore which pleased the loyal fans who stayed right in front of the stage the whole night. On this showing, it\u2019s not just hell who\u2019s addicted, I also have a new fix.<\/p>\n

Reviewed by\u00a0Kenny Cassells<\/a><\/p>\n

If you would like to share this review, please help us by using the share buttons below instead of a screen print \u2013 thanks!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The hard-hitting riffage was interspersed by the track Masterplan which was a slower more introspective track and again demonstrated Ben\u2019s impressive vocals…<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":29804,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[321,216],"tags":[310],"class_list":["post-29795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-321","category-gig_reviews","tag-heavy-rock-music"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/IMG_0385.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p73uhX-7Kz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12078,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/skam\/","url_meta":{"origin":29795,"position":0},"title":"Skam","author":"Trevor Locke","date":"09\/04\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Leicester band Skam","rel":"","context":"In "2017"","block_context":{"text":"2017","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/2017\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/skam-featured-image.jpg?fit=640%2C471&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/skam-featured-image.jpg?fit=640%2C471&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/skam-featured-image.jpg?fit=640%2C471&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3173,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/2013-live-music-in-leicester\/","url_meta":{"origin":29795,"position":1},"title":"2013 Live Music in Leicester","author":"Trevor Locke","date":"01\/01\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Live music in Leicester in 2013 Our month-by-month \u00a0guide to live music. The reviews referred to in this postng were published in Arts in Leicester magazine. They have since been removed. January January 2013, saw obs Unplugged at the Musician, Joe Morrell at the Cookie Jar, Martha Bean's EP Launch,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2013"","block_context":{"text":"2013","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/history-of-leicester-music\/articles-relating-to-2013\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13999,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/january-27\/","url_meta":{"origin":29795,"position":2},"title":"2018 27th January","author":"Trevor Locke","date":"29\/01\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Gig review Ballsdeep at Firebug and The Brew at the Musician on 27th January 2018","rel":"","context":"In "2018"","block_context":{"text":"2018","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/2018\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/IMG_0455-e1517241789261.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/IMG_0455-e1517241789261.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/IMG_0455-e1517241789261.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14440,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/metal-to-the-masses-quarter-final-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":29795,"position":3},"title":"Metal to the Masses quarter final 1","author":"Kevin Gaughan","date":"15\/04\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"8th April 2018 at Firebug with The Surrealists, Seven Hells, Gallows High and Graves plus special guests, Black Emerald and All Consumed Tonight's show was organised by Resin Events and Metal 2 the Masses Leicester. Reviewed by Kashif Hussain The heats have ended and Leicester\u2019s metal scene has showed the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2018"","block_context":{"text":"2018","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/2018\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_3607.jpg?fit=1002%2C653&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_3607.jpg?fit=1002%2C653&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_3607.jpg?fit=1002%2C653&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_3607.jpg?fit=1002%2C653&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3209,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/resins-night-at-the-firebug-2013\/","url_meta":{"origin":29795,"position":4},"title":"Resin’s night at the Firebug 2013","author":"Trevor Locke","date":"02\/01\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Resin's night at Firebug 2013 Saturday 21st December Hinckley-based band Resin held a night at Firebug which was widely acclaimed by gig-goers as being one of the best of the year. Here are Kevin Gaughan's moments from that show: Photos and videos by \u00a0\u00a9\u00a0Kevin Gaughan Mage - watch this video\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gigs"","block_context":{"text":"Gigs","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/music-home-page\/gigs-in-leicester\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Resin-at-the-Firebug.jpg?fit=576%2C510&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Resin-at-the-Firebug.jpg?fit=576%2C510&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Resin-at-the-Firebug.jpg?fit=576%2C510&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3183,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/2013-our-pick-of-the-gigs\/","url_meta":{"origin":29795,"position":5},"title":"2013 – our pick of the gigs","author":"Trevor Locke","date":"02\/01\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"We look back at 2013 and make our selection of its live music highlights See our main listing of forthcoming gigs Part 1 - Live music reviews 2013 Thank you to many people who suggested which gigs stood out for them. \u00a0 We have not included all of them but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2013"","block_context":{"text":"2013","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/history-of-leicester-music\/articles-relating-to-2013\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Kagoule-The-Cookie-2-12-2015.jpg?fit=600%2C371&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Kagoule-The-Cookie-2-12-2015.jpg?fit=600%2C371&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Kagoule-The-Cookie-2-12-2015.jpg?fit=600%2C371&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29795"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29805,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29795\/revisions\/29805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}