HELL EVER AFTER: Eight Years in the Making, a Rock Opera Comes to Life

The making of any album is a massive undertaking. The writing, arrangement, rehearsal, recording, takes and re-takes, mixing and mastering and so on — anyone who’s been through it knows the immense work involved. Which makes what Buffalo metal band Hell Ever After just pulled off so impressive — taking all that’s involved in creating an album and adding to that the unimaginable challenge of making the work a full-fledged rock opera.

On Friday, the band will drop its self-titled album, marking the culmination of several years’ worth of work by Lawrence Gomez, guitarist, vocalist, and the creator and composer of ‘Hell Ever After.’ An album release show will also be held Friday night at 6 p.m. at Amvets Post 13 in Buffalo, featuring Hell Ever After, Grizzly Run and Cemetery Echo. The new album constitutes Act I of what will ultimately be a three-act rock opera that will be given a theatrical release.

In listening to ‘Hell Ever After’ — comprised of six tracks and clocking in at just under 40 minutes — it’s impossible to look past the scale of the project. It is simply awesome, not only in its outcome but also in its scope. Gomez spent eight years writing the opera in its entirety, a remarkable feat requiring both vision and persistence.

‘Hell Ever After’ is an extraordinary achievement, one that successfully blends compelling storytelling with stellar metal musicality.

From start to finish, the album plays out in a manner that is tense, manic, and powerful, featuring commanding and theatrical vocal performances, intricate guitar work that masterfully conveys the story’s wide range of emotions, and a rhythm section that drives the underlying, heavy and ominous vibe which serves as the album’s lifeblood.

1120 Press was fortunate enough recently to speak with Lawrence Gomez about the album and all that went into it. We thank him for his time. Please see our interview below. (Also, be sure to see the album’s credits at the bottom of this page, which include a long list of local musicians who contributed to ‘Hell Ever After.’ Photos by Kevin Cannon and John Noworyta provided by the band.)

1120 PRESS: Congratulations on the album! We’ve given it a handful of spins and it’s an absolute monolith. It’s quite an accomplishment. How do you feel now that this is done and ready to drop?

LAWRENCE GOMEZ: Firstly, thank you so much! I don’t think it’s some crazy outside-the-box album, but so far, I think people are apprehensive. It does distinguish itself from so much of today’s popular music. So, to have your stellar stamp on it means so much! We are very excited, as one can imagine. It turned out great, and we got so many people involved in its creation. It truly is an incredible time. I hope everyone chooses to celebrate with us! I believe it’s a strong record. I hope people of all musical backgrounds check it out. Yes, it is a metal album. However, it has a timeless quality, in my opinion, and a compelling story that all music lovers can appreciate. Furthermore, I am incredibly relieved that it is finished. It took an immense amount of time and coordination to achieve. Not to mention patience and trust in the process. I had a very specific vision, and it took a great long while for it to hit right. 

1120: Can you take us back to the origins of this project? What inspired this vision and the desire to take this on, and was everyone on board from the get-go with a rock opera?

LG: I have always been torn in so many directions. It was cool in that I got a lot of different experiences. However, it was also detrimental that my skills and drive weren’t funneled into a single vision. It wasn’t until I saw the movie ‘Phantom of the Opera’ in the late aughts that I had an epiphany: This is what I need to be doing! A musical or “Rock Opera” would allow me to write both music and a story — two things I had always done, but separately. It would also include my love for the theatre. The stars aligned that day. I even had some old tracks that never went anywhere and an idea: An average schmo ends up in Hell with no idea how and a strong belief that he should not be there. It was all coming together. So naturally, I immediately started pro wrestling! Makes sense, I know.

All the while, the opera was stewing in the back of my head. I feel that pro wrestling was a necessary detour as I learned a great deal about psychology, physical storytelling and being over the top. Finally, nearly a decade later it was time to hang up the boots as the story could no longer be put off. And in early 2018 I began the official writing process for what would become ‘Hell Ever After.’ Fast forward a few more years, I had six tracks, and the title came naturally as it completely sums up the story, my views since turning vegan and the lives we are living politically. But that’s a different story.

I finally started putting a band together for it right before COVID struck. But I still managed to land all the best members for the project, and we hit the stage right after the lockdown. I do believe that everyone was not only on board with the rock opera, and theatrical aspect, but sold on the idea solely on that knowledge as the story was — and still is — not known through the songs available to the public and even its members. 

1120: Without giving anything away, can you talk about the story being told on Act I? 

LG: I put off a lot of the writing for Act I, which is a huge reason why it’s taken so long to release an album. The reason I put it off and it’s taken this long is due to the importance of Act I. It introduces all the players, who they are and why these things are happening. ‘Casket’ and ‘Hell Hath Come’ were completed very early on because it was easy to establish a character’s loss and then the desire to remedy that loss. It was much more difficult to establish a couple that love each other yet have come to a potentially relationship-ending crossroads. I needed to make the audience like and invest in these characters. It was no easy task. But after a long writing process it was accomplished. And it is a strong track too. 

1120: So, this being Act I, how many more acts are there and where is the band in the writing process for any act that might follow? Is there a timeline, or is it ‘whenever we get it done?’

LG: It will be a three-act opera at the end of the day. I do have a deadline but its more-or-less ASAP. I want to see this performed as a full musical experience. So, to say I really want to get these albums written and out so that we can begin production is an understatement. Act II is about two-thirds complete, and Act III is nearly half done. Glen, our drummer and my writing sound board, and I are jumping right into wrapping up the second album after this album release show. We won’t stop promoting ACT I as it’s a great and strong record that deserves it. But behind the scenes we will be busy writing the next album. The goal is to have the next album out before 2027, with ACT III to immediately follow. 

1120: Can you talk about the ways — if any — that writing and arranging the music/songs for a project like this differs from that of a typical album? Were there challenges you encountered, especially ones you didn’t expect?

LG: Wow, so much has taken place while writing this album. I’ve grown significantly as a person and songwriter. The best thing I’ve had going with this project is seeing the entire story in front of me. Things change here and there as something better comes about organically. But, on the whole, I know and see the entire plot visually. Then it is my job to tell that story through music. This definitely differs from a traditional album as, normally, an album will have several songs, each telling a different story. This opera is one big, long song telling the same story. It ebbs and flows. It has peaks and valleys. I always knew, even though others have done it — writing musicals and operas, and better than me, as well — that this would be difficult. It has been very difficult. But whenever I hit a snag, I have learned to take a step back by letting that piece of music stew. Something always pops into my head that leads me to remedy that particular hang up. I have to imagine it will grow more difficult as I have less to write with the more tracks that are completed. Also, with attempting to up the ante on each album. Only time will tell on that one. We’ll have to do this again with each act. 

1120: Along that same line, is there anything that stuck out to you that you were

especially pleased with?

LG: Absolutely, it would have to be my vocal and lyric abilities. I am a guitarist. I never sang in a band. I had never written lyrics prior to this project. I had written poetry and stories. But never lyrics or vocal melodies. These were skills I needed to learn in order to write a rock opera. And I did! I am so surprised with how that has gone. It’s yet another inspiring aspect that I’m on the right track. I’m so happy with the story being told through the lyrics. Especially the emotions conveyed. The melodies that accompany the music are as great as the lyrics themselves. I am so surprised in retrospect of how all that came together. It was all out of necessity as I needed to be able to do it in order to tell this story. 

1120: Is there anything that requires special consideration/planning in terms of performing this live so that it translates the same way as it does on the album? 

LG: Luckily, in our current state, we aren’t attempting to deliver the opera. We are currently treating, as a band — a theatrical band, mind you, but still just a band (nothing wrong with bands, it’s just not our end goal) — that the songs are good enough to where they don’t need to be played in order of the story to be enjoyable. It is mostly difficult in that all of our members have their own bands. So, we have a logistics nightmare coordinating seven members with shows and rehearsals in order to perform. It’s the main reason we perform so infrequently. I would like to start getting “understudies” so that we can play out more and have more options in the case of members having conflicts.

1120: The release show will also take place on Friday (Oct. 10) at Amvets with Grizzly Run and Cemetery Echo. What should people expect?

LG: People should plan to come and enjoy a kick ass metal show! A perfect three-band bill. A spooky theme is in place so I hope we can bring the Halloween season vibes. I know, I for one, am very excited!

1120: Thank you so much for speaking with us and again, congratulations! Is there anything else you want to say that we haven’t touched on?

LG: I want to thank you so much for listening to the album, your praise on it and taking the time to talk with me. I would just add that I truly hope people check out the album. It’s not just for metalheads. Though that’s who I want to be able to enjoy a night at the theatre, because I feel it’s lacking. It is just a good record. It is heavy but it’s also melodic and beautiful. It’s worth a listen for nearly all music fans.