HELL’S GAZELLES – Take Your Medicine (EP Review)

When HELL’S GAZELLES – Take Your Medicine appeared in my promo downloads, I was instantly attracted to it. The album cover. The band name. They were simply intriguing and crying out for me to listen to it. On to the phone it went for sampling during the public transit commute to work.

The EP played well over my headphones and I opened up the accompanying press release. I was quite surprised to read that this is the band’s second effort, seeing as they were new to my radar. Well, not so much of a PR as frontman Cole Bryant discussing the lyrics to the five songs. A little further down he discusses the album art that first caught my attention. It seems that their debut recording contained a character called Dr. Strangechild. Wanting to explore the character more, Hell’s Gazelles contracted Very Metal Art to bring him to life.

HELL’S GAZELLES – Take Your Medicine EP

Hell’s Gazelles – Take Your Medicine opens with “Give Me Something”. In the first 25 seconds, you are given everything you need to know about the band. The opening grinding guitar riff. The thumping rhythm section. And some vocal prowess screaming. I’m not normally a lyrics kinda guy. I mean I hear them, I sing along to them, but I don’t often analyze every song to discern the meaning or subject. The good thing is here I don’t have to as in the PR Bryant breaks down each composition. They are surprisingly deep and poignant, dealing with subjects from politics to mental health. And the faith, faithlessness, and disillusionments therein. That’s just the first track.

“Stone Cold” is actually something that we’ve all encountered or will in our lives. The toxic people and getting them gone. Think of it as a self-help song! And it rips along at a fantastically frantic pace. The heavy subjects of faith, in oneself and in a higher power, depression, and hopelessness arise in “Out of Time”. Check out the title track in the attached Facebook posted official video below. More dark subject matter dealing with mental health. The Take Your Medicine EP closes out with “She-Devil”. As Bryant says, “hey, what bloke has never had girl trouble?”.

HELL’S GAZELLES – Info

Thanks to the band’s Facebook page I garnered some more information. They formed in 2011 and hail from Oxford, UK. The players consist of Cole Bryant (vocals), Nath Digman (guitar), Rik Ridemark (bass), and Luke Evans (drums). Indeed a six-song self-titled EP released in 2016 is available to purchase at Amazon.com. Apparently, Hell’s Gazelles remain currently unsigned. That’s a travesty if you ask me. Take Your Medicine is independently available on July 27, 2018.