Hellshock is metal. A large part of their sound is steeped heavily in mid to late '80s UK crust but they add in some Scandinavian raw-punk flavor to brighten things up a bit. Take Axegrinder and Electro Hippies, sprinkle in some Anti-Cimex and then chop that up with one of the Baron's swords and you'd get something pretty close to their sound. Actually, most of you probably have no idea what I'm talking about so I'll try to explain better.
Hellshock hail from Portland, Oregon, a dreary land filled to the brim with punks, dope and apathy, a lot of which is reflected in their music. As a friend once mentioned, "Every time I go to Portland I get the urge to shoot up dope and spend the rest of my days underneath an f'n train trestle." A bit dramatic, yes… But he's not the first to get that feeling (even though he is a gothy, little drama queen we like to call "Grampa Spooky"). England may have the reputation as the land of endless rain but I think Portland is more deserved of such a title.
It's the atmosphere of this city that I think helps to both validate and explain Hellshock's heavy UK leanings. Maybe I'm completely full of it? Either way. The one thing that can not be denied is that Hellshock bring it and do so in a way that comes of pleasing those that came before and also mixing it up enough to offer up something new. And to be honest… you can't really ask anything more from a band.
Band Site: www.myspace.com/pdxstenchcore
Label Sites: Profane Existence – Feral Ward