UK label Dirty Water Records has always been the purveyor of all things good in punk, so there was bound to be one misstep and this record is it. Hell Is Real, by Ricky Hamilton and the Void Boys, is the worst kind of quasi-punk out there; a complete rip off of the genre. The album is derivative to the point caricature. The phony guitar feedback at the start of every track, fuels the lack of authenticity, as does the poor production, which feels manufactured rather than a real part of the recording. This band's final insult was, until this album, to have the name Ricky Hell and The Void Boys, thus shamelessly appropriating a name and a legacy of which they are not deserving. There is tons of great punk music being made around the world right now, skip this junk band and go find some legitimate punk. Stream Hell is Real at the link below.
