Hell Below/Stars Above is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band Toadies, released on March 20, 2001, by Interscope Records.

Unlike earlier Toadies' releases, Hell Below/Stars Above was jointly written by all of the band's members instead of by frontman Vaden Todd Lewis only, resulting in it becoming more stylistically varied.

[2] Disillusioned with the album's failure, Umbarger quit the Toadies four months after its release, resulting in the group's disbandment in October 2001.

Propelled by the hit single "Possum Kingdom" and the band's relentless touring schedules, the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1996.

[2][7] After writing and rehearsing new material throughout 1997, the Toadies recorded a new album, later known as Feeler, in Austin, Texas with producer Paul Leary (of the Butthole Surfers) between January and April 1998.

[10][11] Ultimately, the band ended up handing Feeler over to Interscope in an unmixed and unmastered state; the label then withheld the album from release, unhappy with its perceived change in sound.

[12][2] After the album's rejection, the Toadies decided to scrap Feeler entirely, feeling unhappy with its "mechanical" production.

[9] The Toadies would begin to face numerous difficulties during this time, financially and legally; the band's former manager, Tom Bunch (who was fired in December 1998) and Darrel Herbert jointly sued the band in 1999 after claiming continued royalties and unpaid management fees; the lawsuits would be settled in June 2001.

"[12] In spite of his status as the band's newest member, Vogeler quickly became an equal part in the song writing process.

"[17][18] The band opted to work again with Rubberneck producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf again, favouring their "full" production style.

[2] Recording was completed on March 18, 2000, and the album was mixed by Andy Wallace in April and mastered by Howie Weinberg in May of that year.

[27] While mostly consisting of heavy rock songs, several tracks feature a more emotional, softer-sound, including "Pressed Against the Sky" and "Doll Skin".

"[9] Hell Below/Stars Above also saw the band experimenting with a variety of instruments, techniques and ideas, including using vocal harmonies, tambourines and piano on several of the album's tracks.

[28] The intro sound on "Doll Skin" was created by Todd Lewis knocking a wooden hammer into the body of his guitar, emulating tambour.

"The charm of this record is that we don’t fit in," Todd Lewis said to Pause And Play, "especially now with all the backwards-hats-wearing, scream-at-the-floor guys.

[32] The lyrical content on Hell Below/Stars Above covers themes such as sex, relationships, murder, religion, and was partially inspired by the struggles the band faced.

[30] "Jigsaw Girl" was described by MTV News as "a dark, romantic ode to a former lover the narrator has chopped to pieces.

The disc artwork and the inner tray card is an image of a stained-glass window taken from the Dallas Power and Light building.

[18][35] The artwork inside the fold-out liner notes contain an enlarged image of the front cover, with a combination of various words from the album's lyrics running through the middle.

[28] Hell Below/Stars Above was not immediately given a release date after it was turned into the label, and a waiting game that the band described as "frustrating" and "fucking depressing" ensued.

[40] The album's only single, "Push the Hand", was promoted for two weeks on the radio, which was "the minimal amount they were legally required to do", according to drummer Mark Reznicek.

[46] In a positive review from Texas Monthly, Andy Langer commented: "Time and familiarity haven’t dulled the punch of the Toadies’ creepy narratives, muscular hooks, and unfettered aggression".

Writing for Allmusic, Mark Morgenstein remarked that "If 1995's Rubberneck was a pretty heavy album, with guitars swimming in a post-grunge murk, Hell Below/Stars Above finds the band trudging through primeval sludge, awakening the ghosts of heavy metal past", and that "Hell Below/Stars Above isn't all that original, but it's nirvana to some headbangers in an era when rap-metal was the only metal played on the radio.

"[48] Chris Molanphy of CMJ New Music Monthly similarly called the album "a pulverizing comeback" and commented "What puts the Toadies over [its grunge peers] isn't the player's chops so much as their range– few bands successfully mix turgid and tense as they do, disdaining solos and remaining heavy.

"[23] Most of the album's criticism was largely directed towards the quality of the band's song writing and production, many who called it unoriginal and outdated.

"[49] Similarly, PopMatters criticized the album's "weak" songwriting, and dismissed the Toadies as "a cheap xerox copy of Collective Soul.

[57] The Toadies were shocked and disappointed with Hell Below/Stars Above's poor commercial performance, with Todd Lewis blaming Interscope's lacklustre promotion for the album's low sales.

[18][17][58][59] The band made the conscious decision to travel to "secondary markets" and less-commonly toured locations such as Lubbock, Texas.

[62] Lewis would confirm to the Dallas Observer via phone call that the Toadies were breaking up on August 22, 2001; the newspaper would announce the breakup the following day.

Lisa Umbarger quit music altogether and moved to Sweden with her boyfriend, Clark Vogeler went to film school and worked on designing websites, Vaden Todd Lewis took a brief hiatus from music before forming a new band with Reverend Horton Heat drummer Taz Bentley, the Burden Brothers, and Mark Reznicek became the drummer for the bluegrass band 1100 Springs.