It is the follow-up to the band's previous album All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, and is the first record without founding member and main songwriter Tom Searle, following his death from skin cancer in August 2016.

Sam Carter, the band's lead vocalist, noted at the final date of a European tour in the Brixton Academy in London he felt "this could be the last time I do this".

[6] On 7 September 2017, Architects released the song "Doomsday", which Tom Searle had started to write during the production of their seventh album All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, as a single.

[8] After the successful release of the song the band organised a one date, sold-out performance at the 10,000 capacity venue Alexandra Palace in London,[6] with support from While She Sleeps and Counterparts.

[12] On 10 September 2018, Architects released teaser videos online which utilised instrumental versions of "Doomsday" and "Memento Mori", which were later that day taken down.

[15] Merlin Alderslade, when writing for Metal Hammer about the song, noted how it featured a more "streamlined" approach to Architects' musical style than previous work and was a greater indication of Holy Hell's sound than "Doomsday".

The rest of the tour dates for the United Kingdom and the Mainland Europe is set in January and February 2019, with support from Polaris and Beartooth.

[20] Dave Stewart of Punktastic gave a favourable review of the album and its attention to detail and emotional intensity, saying "A mere two years since [Tom Searle's] passing, to even consider releasing a record is commendable.

"[30] In a 4 out of 5 star review, AllMusic concluded "Holy Hell is both a teardown and a rebuild, and while it isn't always an easy listen, there is some hard-won catharsis to be found in its attempt to distill the messiness of grief into four-minute blasts of sonic demolition.