No, but seriously, Hella’s “The Devil Isn’t Red” is a good album, and for all I know Hella might just be one ‘helluva’ band. In fact, judging from this, their third studio long-player, they probably are. Fusing a 70s progressive rock sounds with heavier, noisier guitars and drums, Sacramento-Californian Hella have put together a solid record featuring a continuous flow of instrumental goodness with some absolutely crazy rhythms. Double-pedalling bassdrums, jumpy guitars and so on give it a slightly Mr. Bungleish quality, although without the nutsy vocals. At some thirty minutes, the album is fun to listen to without getting tedious and repetitive despite the absence of any vocals or definite song structure. It must of course be said that it takes both guts and skill to pull off such an abstract, chaotic and strictly instrumental record. Hella have proven themselves fully capable of doing it without just performing “musical masturbation”, but if you’re the type who needs a little more than just noise-rock (good noise-rock, true, but still noise-rock), you’ll want to steer clear of “The Devil Isn’t Red”. For all the others: a truly eccentric, oddball start to the new year.

Year Released: 2004
Label: 5RC
Related Link: Hella Official Website
Date Reviewed: 2003-12-25
Author: Andreas