Ben Sargent – Lead vocals
Dan Weir – Guitars, backing vocals
Liam Sargent – Guitars
Jason Green – Bass
Luke Morley – Drums, percussion
There’s a popular saying – “the third time’s the charm.” For popular UK hard rockers HELL’S ADDICTION, that third time has arrived. The quintet’s 9 O’Clock Horses is set to shatter the public’s expectations and ignite a new era for the band.
HELL’S ADDICTION came together as a quartet in 2010 – Ben, Laim, Jason and Luke, with Ben serving not only as the frontman but handling second guitar duties, as well. It was this lineup that self-released their debut album, ‘Raise Your Glass’ in 2013 as well as the ‘Broken’ album in 2016. At this point the band started getting people’s attention. Frontman, Ben Sargent recollects, “2016 was a big year for us, the dynamics of the band changed massively when adding Dan and growing into a five piece. Obviously playing the Boardie Take Over at Download was huge for us and saw our fan base grow pretty rapidly. I can’t help but feel this was the year when the band really found itself.”
2016 also saw two other apex points for HELL’S ADDICTION: They became a five-piece and they made their inaugural appearance at Download on the Boardie Takeover Stage.
With Weir onboard the band’s writing and performances went from strength to strength. Knocking out a couple of Ep’s in short order with 2018’s ‘Statutory Nuisance’ then ‘ V1.0’ the following year – an Ep that showed the band’s popularity soaring as it reached #7 on the iTunes chart, #1 in Amazon Hot New Releases and within 48 hours of release it had hit #2 on the Amazon Rock Album charts … held off the top spot only by the Queen ‘Platinum Collection.’ If you’re going to be kept out of a top spot, then it doesn’t get any better than Queen …
With the restraints of Covid now out of the way, HELL’S ADDICTION has brought their fans’ four year long wait to an end. With 9 O’Clock Horses the band’s growth as songwriters is as apparent as the day is long. “We truly believe we have found “our” sound with this album,” bassist, Jason Green states. “It is packed to the rafters with our influences from decades past, with a heap of Hell’s Addiction added to mix that makes it our own. This album both musically and lyrically is the best to date.”
9 O’Clock Horses, the brand-new release from HELL’S ADDICTION is an actual ballbuster. The band members have collectively raised the bar in every way on this new record; from the writing to the production. From the presentation to the live show. They are firing on all cylinders at this point. But, wait, what the hell is it with that album title? Ben Sargent takes the reins, “The story behind the album name comes from Luke’s childhood and I’m sure many other children in our hometown of Leicester. It was used by his dad to get him to bed before 9 0’clock in fear of the horseman taking children away to slave on the farms. And this was actually a real thing in the 1800’s – go research it, it’s fascinating!”
Work on 9 O’Clock Horses was started in 2019 following the success of the V1 Ep and the band have had one hell of a journey making it. Guitarist Liam Sargent remarks, ““We have recorded with Matt Elliss at Axis Studios for a number of years, the live room is great for huge drum sounds and the finished product never ceases to amaze me. All in all, it’s a great studio and Matt is a brilliant producer, what more could you want?”
Ben continues: “Firstly, there was the whole pandemic which put a grinding halt to all things music – and even made us all question if we wanted to carry on. But we all had motivation going back to the story above about Luke’s dad. During this four-year period all the band members have lost their fathers, who were our idols, inspirations and heroes. So, we took our time to make sure we produced the best goddamn album possible in tribute to our late fathers. This one is for them and for all the other fathers out there, actually.”
Kicking off with the take-no-prisoners approach of “Leave It Alone” you know right away that the band isn’t messing around as they go for the throat from the very start. With the powerful and hook oriented “Upside Down” HELL’S ADDICTION add some samples from the Netflix hit series Stranger Things complete with the company’s permission: “they decided they didn’t want to charge us – or sue us – for every penny we don’t have!” jokes Dan Weir. First single “Scream Your Name” is a nod to Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip in the 80s and the song tells the all too real tale of one half of a relationship trying their best to save things after their partner wanders one too many times then finally giving in and allowing it to follow through to its obvious conclusion. “Save Me” sees HELL’S ADDICTION switch to drop C tuning, which isn’t the norm for the band and the result is reminiscent of John Corabi era Motley Crue and the guys draw direct inspiration from another band with “Cannot Hide” as hints of Cinderella pop up throughout the song.
With 9 O’Clock Horses, HELL’S ADDICTION start a new chapter in life – one that takes their fans on the ride of their lives. Join the party or get dragged off to slave your life away.
Purchase:
