Hell Below Stars Above

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In the beginning--well, in the early '90s, anyway--there was grunge. The sound from Northwest bands like Mudhoney and Nirvana sliced razor-sharp punk into thick slabs of Black Sabbath-influenced metal to forever fray the mainstream public's image of straight-ahead rock & roll. As the '90s creeped on, rockers like Stone Temple Pilots and Bush were taking the fringes of the Seattle sound and smoothing them into modern radio rock. In 1994, the Texas band the Toadies stepped up to the post-grunge plate with the major-label release of Rubberneck. The album went platinum and the single "Possum Kingdom" hit the alternative and hard-rock radio circuit pretty hard. The critics scratched their heads, though, claiming the band was just a bland reworking of the classic Nirvana sound.

Seven years later, the band released their Rubberneck follow-up, Hell Below/Stars Above, and critics are still scratching their heads. The album offers highly charged, raw-throated vocals and a wall of aggressive rock built on solid bricks of distortion ("Sweetness," "Plane Crash," "Push the Hand," "Heel"), but it still lacks the intricacy and hooks of, say, a Foo Fighters album. Sure, there are some slower songs ("Pressed Against the Sky") that give front man Todd Lewis a break from the testosterone rants, but overall Hell Below feels like one long song of Warped Tour-era rock that too easily blends into itself. --Jennifer Maerz

Hell Below Stars Above,Toadies,Interscope Records,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Hell Below Stars Above

Average customer rating:

Another perfect record from Toadies, and their last.
great alt-Rock
Push the hand...of the critic
FABULOUS
Disappointing

Hell Below/Stars Above
Toadies
Manufacturer: Interscope Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005ABL2
Release Date: 2001-03-20

Tracks:

Plane Crash
Push The Hand
Little Sin
Motivational
Heel
You'll Come Down
Pressed Against The Sky
What We Have We Steal
Jigsaw Girl
Sweetness
Hell Below/Stars Above
Dollskin

Amazon.com

In the beginning--well, in the early '90s, anyway--there was grunge. The sound from Northwest bands like Mudhoney and Nirvana sliced razor-sharp punk into thick slabs of Black Sabbath-influenced metal to forever fray the mainstream public's image of straight-ahead rock & roll. As the '90s creeped on, rockers like Stone Temple Pilots and Bush were taking the fringes of the Seattle sound and smoothing them into modern radio rock. In 1994, the Texas band the Toadies stepped up to the post-grunge plate with the major-label release of Rubberneck. The album went platinum and the single "Possum Kingdom" hit the alternative and hard-rock radio circuit pretty hard. The critics scratched their heads, though, claiming the band was just a bland reworking of the classic Nirvana sound.

Seven years later, the band released their Rubberneck follow-up, Hell Below/Stars Above, and critics are still scratching their heads. The album offers highly charged, raw-throated vocals and a wall of aggressive rock built on solid bricks of distortion ("Sweetness," "Plane Crash," "Push the Hand," "Heel"), but it still lacks the intricacy and hooks of, say, a Foo Fighters album. Sure, there are some slower songs ("Pressed Against the Sky") that give front man Todd Lewis a break from the testosterone rants, but overall Hell Below feels like one long song of Warped Tour-era rock that too easily blends into itself. --Jennifer Maerz

Customer Reviews:

Another perfect record from Toadies, and their last........2007-05-31

This was their second full length and their last as a group. Just like "Rubberneck", this is one cd that does not get old. It just has a level of fun and song variety that keeps things fresh. There are some heavier songs that you can rock out to, and some mellow, sing-along stuff with awesome hooks that will stick in your head like peanut butter. As always, Todd Lewis' vocals are without equal. He has one of the best sets of rock pipes that I've ever heard. This would probably fall into the grunge, hard rock, alt. rock categories, but it really should appeal to anyone who is a fan of flat-out, fun rock music.

great alt-Rock.......2007-03-03

This is a great cd. great 90's sound. if you were into alt stuff like PJ, Soundgarden, AIC or the like, you will probably like this cd. While 'Rubberneck' was great, this CD isnt a bad follow up by any means. Tracks like "Plane Crash", "Hell Below...", "Little Sin" and "youll come down" are great Rocking songs. Then they have the slower paced tracks like ""What we have to Steal" and "jigsaw Girl" to balance out a really good CD that would (unfortunately) be their last.. Must have right along side of 'Rubberneck' if into that genre of music. a grunge era classic! 4.3..

Push the hand...of the critic.......2006-12-07

While not up to the caliber of Toadies' only other relase, Rubberneck, this is still a finely put together rock album. The drawback was that it took 7 years to release, cementing the band's demise from rock's (near) stardom.

While not as muscially and lyrically catchy (or as dark) as Rubberneck, Hell Below/Stars Above still manages to rock. It's just a little more disjointed. Push the Hand, Plane Crash and Heel are more "Rubberneck-ish", unlike the curiously sappy Dollskin, or the curiously inane Hell Below/Stars Above. Todd Lewis' voice is still the highlight of the album, just this time the lyrics behind his amazing rock voice are a little less powerful and a little more silly ("We know what we really want...we know what really want...). Even so, Toadies still managed to put out a rock album that defied the notion of what a rock album was. 1994's Rubberneck was unlike anything grunge could produce, and 2001's Hell Below was unlike anything that System of a Down (and the like) would produce. Both were a fine distraction from the other mediocre rock/metal the rock/metal world insisted on vomitting on us.

I question why this album took 7 years to release. I questioned it in 1996...and 97, 99, 2000...every year that passed by without a Toadies album. The buzz and hype around Toadies circa-1994, 1995 was huge. Tours with rock's biggest bands of the time, like White Zombie, should have solidified this band's place with the music elite. Instead, they sat on music for years and put out an album that while not mediocre comparative to other music of the time was mediocre to the freshman album this sophmore act released in 2001. Thus, I also question whether the critical acclaim (or lack thereof) of this album really caused the breakup of one of rock's finest diamond's in the rough.

Whatever the case, Hell Below was and is a nice distraction from the puke other bands have forced on people in the past 6 years. Not up to Rubberneck standards, but a fine album nevertheless.

FABULOUS.......2006-09-13

I bought this album the day it came out. I feel no need to discuss any specific aspects of this album. This is a Toadies album, and that fact speaks for itself. There are not enough stars to give this album.

Disappointing.......2006-08-10

I bought this CD because I love Rubberneck and because reviewers seemed to agree that this was album more of the same. I was disappointed, though, and would say that there are only 3 songs worth listening to on this album. The song writing seemed stale and lacked the creativity of Rubberneck. I listened to it and thought to myself - Well, I guess this is why the band the band broke up.

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