To say I’ve been dying to hear this album is underselling it massively, This is THE album I’ve wanted to hear most for the last few years. In my view their last album Venomous Anonymous is one of the best from start to finish hard rock albums put out in the last 26 years, If not one of the best hard rock albums ever. That was my album of the year in 2022 and it’s crazy to think that was four years ago, I still play that album a lot.
It’s pretty incredible that a band with so few records holds the elevated place in the sleaze metal scene that these guys do. Granted, They did have a bit of a built in fanbase already thanks to singer/ guitarist Lizzy DeVine’s history with his prior band Vains Of Jenna.
But as good as his former band was, I think this band cracked the upper echelon of the sleaze scene because The Cruel Intentions are an even better band with not a single bad song on either album they’ve put out previously.
So, Having established that high bar expectation filtered through my unapologetic fan boy raving, Now that the long awaited day is here, The question then becomes does All Hail Hypocrisy live up to those lofty expectations?
The answer is a horns raised, Stated loud and proud, HELL YES!!!
The band waste no time and come out swinging with “Beating In My Chest” a song about the impact Los Angeles had on Lizzy from both an inspirational and career stand point, A love letter to the city that gave us this style of rock music.
Musically this song bears a slight resemblance to “We Don’t Celebrate Sunday’s” by Hardcore Superstar in some of the riffs, But this is still very much in the distinct style of this band. Lizzy’s vocals as sleazy and punky as always, Never ceasing to carry the emotion and energy of the song and knock it out of the park. Everything about this song kicks ass, Incredible riffs and energetic drumming from who is in my humble opinion the best drummer in the modern scene, Robin Nilsson.
“Living Out Of Line” keeps the momentum going with some great punchy hard rock riffs, The guitar solo here is absolutely fantastic. Again, There’s a slight Hardcore Superstar influence here and on a few tracks on the album if I’m being honest.
“All Hail Hypocrisy” sounds a bit like the punk meets Cheap Trick style of Trench Dogs with just a dash of Dropkick Murphy’s, It manages to fit in this bands sound while also sounding like something they haven’t done on their prior albums, Bassist Mats Wernerson has a great bass line on this song.
“Triple Threat” kicks up the pace with another great rocker that really lets the rhythm section shine, Mats and Robin really dial up the energy of this song. There’s a cool metal and rock shift around the guitar solo section before going back into the punk/sleaze territory they are experts at.
Of the many things this band does right ballads are one they don’t get enough credit for, Having only done two prior to this song and only one of which has made it onto an album. But the rare time they record one it’s always jaw dropping and never like what you would associate a ballad by a hard rock band as being. Case in point: The absolute stunner that is the acoustic driven ballad “Wasteland” and I’m sure everyone will draw their own meaning from it, But for me I can’t help but feel it cut deep with the state of things in the world presently.
This song is a master class in creating grandeur through simplicity. Pure, Raw, Unapologetic emotion delivered by master musicians. Strumming acoustic melodies drive the song that eventually builds to an absolutely enchanting guitar solo section, and through it all Lizzy’s lyrics hit hard “When everything is burning, Everybody’s hurting, and somehow it’s fucking all about you” a seething and melancholic anthem that feels very relevant presently. Maybe my favorite song on the album.
“When Eden Burn” is like Dr. Feelgood era Motley Crue meets Trench Dogs, This is a bright, Energetic rocker with absolutely infectious melodies. This is a song to play loud on a summer drive.
“Pseudo Genius” dials up the sleaze/punk fusion and leans more into the punk side of that combination. A charging sonic middle finger.
“Bad Addiction” just hammers the whole way through with another energetic rocker which has an absolutely flawless melodic progression, Another track with a slight Hardcore Superstar influence.
“Porridge Head” slows the pace just a bit with a great mid tempo rocker. I don’t think Lizzy gets enough credit for how great his vocals are. He’s got a great ability to convey melody and emotion and he delivers a great chorus here and really is just a killer frontman and vocalist period.
“Whatcha Gonna Do” has a slight Dokken element to the sound of this song, A bit of 80’s melodic rock delivered by way of this band’s energetic sleaze punk sound. The twin guitar attack of Lizzy and Kristian Solhaug is always stunning but here they really get to go old school in some of the melodies in their playing.
“Cashed Out” is one of my top favorites on this album, If it wasn’t for the ballad on this album this might’ve been my favorite song on the record. Definitely my favorite of all the great rock songs on this album, it’s just non stop great driving hard rock with gang vocals at the chorus. It’s basically everything you could want from an energetic rock song. And as any great album should do it goes out on a high note that leaves you wanting more.
This is a jaw dropping album that continues to prove why these guys are one of the best hard rock bands on the planet, There is not a single weak song on this record and the more you listen to it the more impressive it becomes.
I think one of the many remarkable things about these guys is that each album is vastly different from the one before it and yet it’s still distinctly them and fits, There’s just no one who sounds exactly like this band. I can’t compare this to Venomous Anonymous because they sound like two different records and yet all their records still go together, It’s just flat out impressive.
All Hail Hypocrisy, More like all hail The Cruel Intentions.
This one’s a 10! 10/10
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