I Went to Hell and Back

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I Went to Hell and Back
A top-down image of a skeleton stood in a dark room in front of a doorway pouring light in and casting the skeleton's shadow on the ground in front of it.
Studio album by
As It Is
Released4 February 2022
Genre
Length40:20
LabelFearless
ProducerZach Jones
As It Is chronology
Bargaining: Reimagined
(2019) 		I Went to Hell and Back
(2022)
Singles from I Went to Hell and Back
  1. "IDGAF"
    Released: 28 May 2021[5]
  2. "I Lie to Me"
    Released: 5 August 2021[1]
  3. "ILY, How Are You?" and "IDC, I Can't Take It"
    Released: 3 September 2021[2]
  4. "I Miss 2003"
    Released: 11 November 2021[3]
  5. "In Threes"
    Released: 9 December 2021[4]

I Went to Hell and Back is the fourth studio album by British-American pop-punk band As It Is, released 4 February 2022 by Fearless Records.[6][7] The album is the band's first as a trio after guitarist Benjamin Langford-Biss left in 2019[8] and drummer Patrick Foley left in 2020 to pursue his firefighting career,[9] with vocalist Patty Walters recording drums in studio,[10] and their last with Alistair Testo who left the band in August 2022.[11]

Style and reception

[edit]
I Went to Hell and Back ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Distorted Sound8/10[12]
Kerrang!4/5[6]
New Noise Magazine[13]
Sputnikmusic3/5[14]
Upset[15]

Distorted Sound's Katie Bird says that the band "have stopped playing it safe", showing with the post-hardcore screams on album opener "IDGAF"'s final chorus that they "aren't here to play around." Subsequent to the first couple tracks, the "heavy rock sound screeches to a halt" with "ILY, How Are You?" and "IDC, I Can't Take It" introducing "strange electronic production" on which it is "nice to see the band experimenting with different genres." The rest of the album switches back and forth between post-hardcore, electronic rock, and pop-punk, making for a "cumulation of everything [the band] have done so far." Bird closes by saying "Despite some mishaps, there is something for everyone. This band are at their best when they are having fun, and that definitely happens a lot on this album."[12] Jake Richardson of Kerrang! writes that the album sees the band "settle on a sound somewhere in between the darkness of their last record [The Great Depression] and the more upbeat stylings of their early material", a "decision that pays dividends throughout." "I Miss 2003" is described as Walters' "love letter to the Warped Tour scene, with lyrics referencing New Found Glory, The All-American Rejects, Mayday Parade and Good Charlotte", but the song is "an anthem in its own right, and a song that does far more than just play on nostalgia for the sake of it." The album is "slick, coherent", "the most fully-rounded incarnation of As It Is to date", and "comfortably the best its creators have ever sounded."[6]

New Noise Magazine's Tabitha Timms notes "IDGAF" for "shin[ing] a light on the band's ability to create catchy melodies and puts a heavy push on fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, featured in the song's chorus"; "I Lie to Me"'s "descending staircase feeling of hooks tied into the chorus and verses"; "I Hate Me Too" as a "powerhouse of a track" which "indicates that their [sic] in-tune with their genre and modernizing it"; and the closing title track which "adds an easy listening dynamic to the record, leaving for a light ending to a bold record."[13] Upset's Stephen Ackroyd calls the album, "in an unstable world", "a record that's raw, honest, but also determined and stronger than ever", making a catharsis that "feels important, both for the band and everyone else."[15]

In a marginally less positive review, Sputnikmusic's Jesper L. opens by quoting the "I'm 14 and this is deep" meme, noting "admittedly shaky lyricism" such as the chorus "I don't want to be right/But I know that it's true/I'm dead inside/I hate me too" and "Sick and tired as the world keeps spinning around/Am I losing my head?" as not "exactly profound or in need of any interpretation whatsoever", but still "highly capable of opening up conversations about mental health among the target demographic of trap-infused pop punk." It's "a shame that As It Is have proven incapable of maturing alongside their audience" but "their attempts at destigmatising such topics haven't changed either." The album overall is "a collection of songs that suck, rule, or simply exist, without any regards for cohesion or flow."[14]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Alistair Testo, Patty Walters, Ronald Ish, and Zach Jones with additional writers noted

I Went to Hell and Back track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."IDGAF"Mike Pepe2:59
2."I Lie to Me" 2:48
3."ILY, How Are You?" 2:11
4."IDC, I Can't Take It" 3:02
5."I'd Rather Die" 2:44
6."I Miss 2003" 3:43
7."I'm Sick and Tired" 2:30
8."I Want to See God" 2:15
9."In Threes" (featuring Set It Off and JordyPurp)Cody Carson, JordyPurp3:05
10."I Hate Me Too" 2:58
11."I'm Gone"Blake Roses, Jon Lundin3:01
12."I Die 1000x" 2:47
13."I Can't Feel a Thing" (featuring The Word Alive)Telle Smith3:24
14."I Went to Hell and Back" 2:53
Total length:40:20

Personnel

[edit]

As It Is

  • Patty Walters – vocals, drums
  • Alistair Testo – bass guitar
  • Ronald Ish – guitar, vocals (1, 2)

Additional musicians

Technical

  • Zach Jones – producer, mixing engineer, recording engineer, recording arranger, programming (5-8, 10-14)
  • Patty Walters – producer (5)
  • Mike Pepe – producer (1)
  • Mike Tucci – mastering engineer

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ruskell, Nick (5 August 2021). "As It Is release new single, "I Lie to Me"". Kerrang!. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  2. ^ Carter, Emily (3 September 2021). "As It Is share two new singles ahead of Slam Dunk Festival". Kerrang!. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  3. ^ Ruskell, Nick (11 November 2021). "As It Is announce new album with killer new song "I Miss 2003"". Kerrang!. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  4. ^ Carter, Emily (9 December 2021). "As It Is drop "intensely dark" new single "In Threes", featuring Set It Off and JodyPurp". Kerrang!. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  5. ^ "As It Is are back with their new single, "IDGAF"". Upset. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Richardson, Jake (1 February 2022). "Album review: As It Is - I Went to Hell and Back". Kerrang!. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  7. ^ Rogers, Jack (11 November 2021). "As It Is Have Announced Their New Album I Went to Hell and Back". Rock Sound. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  8. ^ Shoemaker, Whitney (9 September 2019). "As It Is guitarist Ben Langford-Biss announces departure from band". Alternative Press. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  9. ^ Rogers, Jack (29 December 2020). "As It Is Drummer Patrick Foley Has Parted Ways With the Band to Become a Firefighter". Rock Sound. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  10. ^ Stevens, Samuel (2 February 2022). "As It Is - I Went to Hell and Back". Crucial Rhythm. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  11. ^ Rogers, Jack (23 August 2022). "As It Is and Bassist Alistair Testo Have Parted Ways". Rock Sound. Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  12. ^ a b Bird, Katie (31 January 2022). "Album Review: I Went to Hell and Back - As It Is". Distorted Sound. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  13. ^ a b Timms, Tabitha (4 February 2022). "Album Review: As It Is - I Went to Hell and Back". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Review: As It Is - I Went to Hell and Back". Sputnikmusic. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  15. ^ a b Ackroyd, Stephen (10 March 2022). "As It Is - I Went to Hell and Back". Upset. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
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