Felony Helltown Hotel
by Joe Mis
Staff Writer
Helltown Hotel is a blast from the past. Eonian Records has released a fine retrospective look at Felony, of the many great bands that had a brief moment of fame in the late ’80s/early ’90s.
Felony was formed in 1989 in Indianapolis and quickly became a force in the local rock scene. Relying more on their musical abilities rather than a glam image or other gimmick, they quickly made a name for themselves and hit the rock circuit doing gigs and playing all the well-known clubs across the country. Felony’s original lineup was a solid one: Tommy Lee Lords (vocals), Dale O’Brien (guitars), Shawn Nugent (bass) and Johnny Hustler (drums). This quartet was musically very strong, and their early tracks were straight up simple “roots” metal. After putting together a 4-song demo EP, bassist Nugent left the band and was replaced by Rich Grillo. The band recorded two more “heavier” tracks and added them to the EP. A short while later guitarist O’Brien withdrew from the band to deal with personal issues, and Felony disbanded. After a break, Felony resurfaced with new guitarists Michael Smiley and Jeffrey Parker. New songs were written, gigs were played, but as happened to many bands the rise of the grunge sound pretty much wiped them out and the group disbanded for good.
The history of Felony, while not an uncommon story for a rock band in the “grunge” days, is a shame. These guys had all the chops, talent and tools needed to be a huge success. Tommy Lords has a solid and gritty voice, perfect for the hard rocking style the band developed. O’Brien and the duo of Smiley and Parker were fine guitarists, laying down simple and catchy rhythm lines and blistering solos that would have easily put all three in the pantheon of ’80s/’90s guitar greats. The guys in the rhythm section were excellent players as well, far beyond the bland musical timekeepers that so many modern bands use. Nugent plays a great bouncy and aggressive bass, and actually PLAYS the instrument, not just plunking along as an offshoot of the drums. Hustler had a great feel for the drums, knowing just how to control the intensity and pace without dominating the music. Lyrically the band is fairly run-of-the-mill rock, somewhat inspired by their school of hard knocks lifestyle with a healthy dose of Chicago gangster (the Al Capone type) thrown in. The songs are all heavy and energetic – not a ballad or tearjerker in the bunch.
Some of the musical highlights are: the great rhythm line, wild solo and gurgling bass on “Dancin’ On My Grave”; the solid vocals and guitar work on “Heist In Helltown” (particularly the ’93 version); the cool and heavy bass and drum work on “Street Fight”; all of “Well Of Souls”; and the demo of “Mississippi Rollin’.”
The production and engineering quality is very good for the time – even the one live track sounds clear – and all of the instruments and vocals are nicely balanced. Only the final two demo tracks have any muddiness about them, and that is understandable for demos. The stylistic differences as the band evolved are very interesting – and probably the best aspect of these “classic” releases by Eonian. As usual, the songs are grouped by band configuration – the first four tracks are the original EP, five through 13 are with the band’s final lineup, track 14 is a live recording, and the final two songs are the demos done with Grillo.
All in all, Felony had all tools to be a hugely popular band, and could have been one of the biggest, perhaps rivaling Motley Crue, Poison or Warrant. Unfortunately it just wasn’t in the cards thanks to the demons of bad timing. Eonian has done a nice job packaging the various Felony tracks together into a cohesive whole, and provided their usual copious liners note recapping the history of the band. Fans of early 90s metal or hard rock will enjoy their stay in Helltown Hotel. Highly recommended!
Label: Eonian Records
Web: http://www.eonianrecords.com/b-felony/felony.html , www.myspace.com/helltownhotel
Track Listing:
01 – Cat Daddy
02 – Dancin’ On My Grave
03 – Heist In Helltown
04 – Street Fight
05 – Well Of Souls
06 – To The Core
07 – Lost In The Closet
08 – Yank That Chain
09 – Days Of Disease
10 – Another Hero
11 – F.I.T.H.
12 – Shake The Faith
13 – Heist In Helltown ’93
14 – Heist In Helltown (Live)
15 – Mississippi Rollin’
16 – Shattered Innocence
HRH Rating: 8.5/10