Part of a decades-long line of hardcore acts from Long Island, NY,
This Is Hell formed in 2002 following the breakup of two local favorites. Singer
Travis Reilly had previously fronted
Scraps and Heart Attacks, while guitarist
Joe Osolin, bassist
Jeff Tiu, and drummer
Dan Bourke had been three quarters of
the Backup Plan. The group completed its original lineup with second guitarist
Rick Jimenez, a veteran of several Long Island bands, and somewhat incongruously took their name from an
Elvis Costello song.
This Is Hell's self-released demo was popular enough to be reissued in 2004 as a 7" EP on the Run for Cover label. The six-track
This Is Hell EP followed in 2005. As
the Backup Plan returned to active duty,
Tiu and
Osolin left
This Is Hell to concentrate on their primary project;
Tiu was replaced by bassist
Johnny Moore, who also plays with
Jimenez in
Sentence, and
Osolin by
Reilly's former
Scraps and Heart Attacks bandmate
Chris Reynolds. Concurrent with these changes,
This Is Hell's debut full-length,
Sundowning, was released by Trustkill Records in the spring of 2006. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide