It’s been an interesting few months for Nottingham’s finest musical export, Hell. Since CackBlabbath first saw them in the MFN club back in May the band have been gigging constantly, with the summer spent putting in some show stealing performances at Europe’s biggest music festivals, including Download and Bloodstock Open Air.
Well, they promised they’d be back at the MFN Club, and what better way to mark the end of one year and the beginning of the next than to worship in the church of Hell ? Given the upward trajectory that the band’s profile is on this could be one of the last chances to experience their power and majesty in intimate surroundings like these.
The band had brought along as much of the “Church of Hell” stage set as could be squeezed into the tight stage, including some stunning stained glass type scenes for the backdrop. This did mean that once frontman David Bower’s Pulpit, Kev Bower’s Keyboard set up (which wouldn’t look out of place in a gothic cathedral) and drummer Tim Bowler’s kit were installed there wasn’t a lot of space left for the actual band.
This could get interesting once the pyro started going off…..
As the “overture” intro tape ran the atmosphere in the venue was simply amazing. Hell are a band with a fanatically loyal following and tonight the Hellites from all over Europe were out in force to celebrate the achievements of the past 12 months. As the band ripped through Let Battle Commence it was clear we were in for a treat, even if the sound was a bit iffy with David’s vocals and Andy Sneap’s lead guitar both suffering in a mix that was dominated by Tony Speakman’s Bass.
Before the show there were rumours of some new (well, new to anyone who only discovered the band with last year’s Human Remains album) stuff and the first of these tracks was Deliver Us From Evil, another reworked song from the band’s 80s origins. Honestly, how many more brilliant, classic tracks did Hell write back in the 80s ???
On Earth As It Is In Hell kept the tempo up and the venue bouncing before the band flourished their theatrical side with David coming on stage in the robes and beaked mask of the medieval corpse collector for the “bring out your dead” intro to Plague And Fyre. Now many an actor has fallen flat when they’ve tried their hand at music, but not David. He was born to play this role and he delivers an intense and powerful performance as he works the crowd into a head banging, air punching frenzy.
The Human Remains album was made up of reworked “classic” Hell tunes with the mad genius of the late, great Dave Halliday intricately interwoven through them, but next up was the first example of “modern” Hell’s songwriting prowess in the massive, hook laden form of Something Wicked This Way Comes.
So.. they can still write a tune then 
We’d been promised all of Human Remains, and the next installment was delivered with tale of alien abduction The Oppressors followed by David getting his top off for Blasphemy And The Master.
The last of the “new” songs played was another reworked 80s classic. Land Of The Living Dead is an anthemic, sing-along, arena rocking song of the type that Hell do so well. The massive “we’re all living, in the land of the living dead” sing along from the crowd was something a bit special too.
The Devil’s Deadly Weapon was followed by fan favourite The Quest before the set drew to a close as the New Year approached with Macbeth and No Martyrs Cage.
What a way to end the year, just awesome.
As the last seconds of 2001, erm, 11 ticked away the band became masters of ceremony for the 10 second countdown to 2012, before everyone joined in with a suitably raucous and unforgettable Auld Lang Syne.
Brilliant stuff…
Auld Lang Syne merged into, what else, Save Us From Those Who Would Save Us before the evening’s entertainment drew to a close with the Race Against Time track Bedtime, accompanied by an insane amount of pyro much of which seemed to be raining down on Andy Sneap, much to his discomfort 
There’s just no on else quite like Hell. Take some great Heavy Metal songs, add in a level of showmanship that few today can match and you have all the ingredients for an great band, and an unforgettable New Years Eve party.
The next 12 months has a lot to live up to.
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Proud to have been the promoter for both Hell MFN shows, here’s to the next one!