LACK: Be There Pulse CD
New Danish quartet who inhabit a sort of melodic hardcore type of rock, and the ten tracks on this forty-plus minute debut, reveal their unique sound. Alternating between chiming and more attacking the one thing that becomes obvious very quickly is that they have mixed the lead vocalist right upfront so you can hear every word, every nuance - but also you get the feeling that, if you don't immediately take to this vocal style, that maybe it's been mixed a bit more upfront than necessary. Musically it does change way more than you'd expect with passages that range from strident indie rock to more explosive metallic tendencies that are more rock than metal, almost a heavy Americana at times. Seemingly a wealth of influences at work here, this is actually quite a challenging play and decidedly an acquired taste.

LARUSO: Bring It On CD
Exactly!! Bring it on!!!! This is awesome - for a debut album, it rocks with a confidence, maturity and excellence that few can match. You only have to hear a track like 'Same' fuelled by muscular guitar riffs, propelled by pounding bass and choppy drums, and topped with multi-tracked vocals that rise up majestically as the band powers on all cylinders, to provide this towering metal anthem that is just jaw-dropping. Then, when the next track, 'Apart', does the same but with even more use of intensity and dynamics, you just know you're in the presence of a band that are surely going to be massive - just imagine this track live in concert and you'll already be leaping around the room with manic energy. But the album isn't just about instrumental power - although that's the vital component - it's about song-writing that really hits home mixed with arranging that delivers those songs wrapped up in enough electric energy to power a small village. But it's the sheer sense of passion, the anthemic nature to most of the songs, the way they rise, fall, build, ignite and explode - all this and more that combine to make this one of the most pleasurable experiences in emo-rock today. Song after magical song simply erupt from the speakers as the band create this huge wall of guitars, bass and drums - just listen to 'Nothing Left' for the proof of how this works so well - and it's just one powerhouse after another but crafted, purposeful and on-fire, yet not without a sense of dynamics that makes the peaks rise even higher, as the band delivers a pretty well faultless debut album that is simply awesome.

LAZARUS BLACKSTAR: Revelations CD
Doom metal of the slow burning, ultra heavy, intense, dense, crushing, overpowering gloom variety. They sensibly print all the lyrics in the booklet as, without that, you can make out few of the words that the vocalist is singing since they've decided to keep him upfront in the mix but at such a level where he's close to being drowned out by the awesomely heavy river of disemboweling bass, sludge guitar riffs and crunching, crashing drumming. Across 7 tracks and 46 minutes, the compositions exude a decidedly hypnotic effect as you find yourself more than enjoying this river of molten doom that's flowing like lava from the erupting speakers of your room. The arrangements and production really bring out the best of the band so that, while it is seriously intense, at no point do you want to leave it, as you witness the massive wall of sound slowly coming ever nearer. One of the best of its kind, that's for sure.

LIFE OF AGONY: Broken Valley CD
Hooooooooweeeeeeeee…………….ooooo, just listen to those chunky guitars - fantastic!! Now I've never heard anything by this band before, which may be a plus point, because this is one phenomenal album. Just take the first three tracks alone for starters - no, sod that - take the whole album - there's a real dirty, bluesy, swampy vibe going on down here - but there's also real metal at its heart - in many ways a bit like Reef without that wretched vocal meeting ZZ Top without the commercialism, with a touch of stoner in there for good measure. The songs surge and swagger, but then there are some smoking riffs and driving rhythms that serve to propel the songs on their merry way to intense inferno status. Ah yes, the songs - they have a vocalist who really does them justice, with a sort of nasally bluesy delivery something akin to a cross between Pere Ubu & Pearl Jam with a touch of Cheap Trick, only more powerful than all three. The guitar work is mighty - chunky, red hot, riffing and soloing - and this steals th show, even when the vocals are flying along on top, and when the combination of harmonies and multi-tracked vocals and guitars combine, the results are explosive. There's not a bad track on the album and it's something that undoubtedly has a massively wide appeal to rock fans of all ages - whether into Fony or Br:gade, ZZ Top or Black Crowes, you owe it to yourself to get this album - it's stunning!!

LOCUS OF CONTROL: ….To A Bloody War Or A Sickly Season CD
Hoooo……weeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! Into 2005 with a stormer - and what I immediately love about this album is the way they really let the opening track let you know that you are dealing with a band who can deliver the nu-metal goods with power and passion. The production is fantastic, the lead and harmony vocals to die for - sung but with real strength - while the guitars righteously burn as the thunderous and dynamic rhythm section drive it all onwards and upwards in a starstorm of riffing metallic guitars, all combining to produce a monster that steams headlong into the second track, and here we're taken up even higher with an intensity of playing and singing that is positively jaw-dropping. Yet, it's now that you become aware that the songs before you, while tearing along all over the horizon, actually have a supremely melodic (hard) core that makes them so utterly mesmerizing and so deliciously appetizing, while at the same time rocking and riffing to the ends of the earth and back. 'A Deeper Harm' is solidly anthemic, and even its stop-start, Fony-esque arrangements do not detract from the fact that this is one hell of a great song, one that veers from extraordinarily tender in a kind of muscular manner, to spiraling waves of guitars, bass, drums and vocals that simply roar into the airwaves with the effect of a tornado. Three songs in and already it's a classic - you want to play them all again, but you know you want to go on and see if they can maintain such an extraordinary standard - and they do - with a vengeance, as song after solid, anthemic and molten rocking song, are all unleashed to a degree of excellence that you hardly dared hope you'd hear from a modern emo-rock quartet. There's not a less than fantastic song on the whole album, and they've set the standard in 2005 for which others are gonna have to do some pretty amazing things to equal. A steaming stunner of an album!!!

LOSING SUN: Inertia CDEP
A 9 track, thirty-one minute album that opens to the sound of a wickedly sludgy electric bass as the spark of guitars ignites and the band come blazing in. Great opening, and then the vocals enter. It's at this point you become surprised, for here is the huge metallic cauldron of sound with a vocalist that is actually slightly subdued and really singing - almost down in the mix, and you sit there thinking "interesting" as you listen attentively. It's only when the group and vocalist up the anti and break out in the choruses that you realize this guy can indeed cut it on vocals and suddenly everything falls into place - so all that's left to do is go back to the beginning and play it again - ah yes, I get it now. Song-wise, this is actually the story of most of the rest of the album as the combination of fiery playing just drives the mix of alternating more subdued vocals with the soaring lead vocal that erupts when the whole thing just climbs with all guns blazing, mostly seriously heavy throughout. It's a different approach, not unfamiliar, and one that will worm its way into your life instead of erupting into it. A fine release.

LUCKY NINE: True Crown Foundation Songs CD
Now it's not often you hear a CD with a vocalist that shouts his head off AND sings to perfection, and the result is absolutely spellbinding, but this is one such album, on its seriously molten tracks. Taking no prisoners, this is an adrenaline rush of an album with some furious, swirling riffing and arranging, as the whole band ignites and the two guitarists glow while the rhythm section sounds solid, powerful and tight, driving it all forward with ease, as the vocals are sung and hollered to excellent effect, delivering the songs as though it was the last thing the guy's ever gonna do, just choc full of yearning, angst, power and emotion, a truly breathtaking vocal performance throughout, for its range and vision, thought-provoking lyrics and anthemic delivery. Song after song rides in on waves of guitars and highway-fuelled crunching, crashing rhythms, but the band is unafraid to spice it all up with some dynamic arranging that means when they erupt, the effect is greater than you could imagine. Onstage, they must be amazing, and you can imagine a live concert being one seriously rousing event from start to finish. Room for twists and turns in the music - witness the excellent and yet flowing 'A Lucky Hit' for evidence of this - it's a truly engaging album, one from which you don't want to stray for a second after you've put it on. Solid, forceful, huge-sounding and molten rocking, this just doesn't just glow, it hits meltdown. Stunning!!!

LUCKY NINE: Vessel And Vine CD Single
Two-track taster for the new album and we're talking a sizzling motorized hot-rod race of a single as the band fire up and burn, setting the controls for the heart of a blazing sun, as a monumental wall of heavy riffing, sung and hollered dual vocals, pummeling rhythm section and searing guitar work, all fly out and just rage to incredibly intense but enjoyable degree, the whole thing wholly addictive and inviting you to play it one more time, every play it receives. The second track, 'Sweet Dreams, Lilac', is almost a UK answer to Linkin Park, mixing moments of slower songwriting and emotive vocals, with spiraling squalls of huge-sounding guitars and hollered vocals, backed by a fierce rhythm section and with yet more lead guitar work raining down to awesome extent - the only bad thing about this being, it leaves you wanting more - so the only alternative is to put it on again.

MIOCENE: A Perfect Life With A View Of The Swamp CD
Now if ever there was a more bizarre album in the annals of the nu-metal/rock movement, I've yet to hear it. This is the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde of the new millennium rock world. Opening with a slice of raging guitar-led rock that features a seriously deranged vocal performance from the singer, amid a hail of riffs and rhythms, the album bursts into life with a vengeance and promises a wild ride into the dark side of modern rock for just under two stunning minutes. But then ttrack two comes along and suddenly it's clattering electronic drum rhythms, cyclical electronic leads, a rippling piano, deep dubby bass and a track that's more like an electronic ambient-trance music than anything, for just under four minutes. Now you're guessing - but track three emerges and rumbles along on a mighty undercurrent of wicked fuzzed electric bass, drums and lightly treated vocals. As the guitars erupt and ignite but then it suddenly switches back, then drops down to nothing before exploding in your face as a hail of riffs rhythms match the impassioned vocal that rage down below in the mix, the whole thing eventually pouring out a molten sea of guitars, lead electric bass that really delivers and crunching drums, easily one of the best tracks on the album, at just over five minutes long. The eight minute fifth track is similar in feel and sound, only here takes more time to build and smoulders a lot rather than explodes, once again that massive bass right upfront as, halfway through, the band becomes positively incendiary and the whole thing exhibits dynamics and sound that makes it so riveting to hear. Track 6 returns to the electronic side of the fence with stuttering, fast-paced electro-percussive beats, embellished with equally stuttering synths while an electric piano lead languidly flows on and off, as the piece sails into this industrial drum 'n' bass territory that's hard and heavy but nothing to do with rock, for sure. Then the pattern repeats - a clutch of storming rock tracks followed by a more languid, almost jazzy, instrumental with keys, drums and samples, followed by a more anthemic rock track with some truly soaring vocal work above the wickedly bass-driven undercurrents, and ending, even more bizarrely, on a one minute acoustic track. Head-bending to say the least, I have to admit that I enjoyed it immensely but it's definitely an album for the more adventurous, open-minded listener.

MY LIFE IN THE MAKING: Contemplating Concepts Of Forever CD
The title gives it away a bit - the singer and writer in this band hasn't half got a lot to say - and he certainly says it - putting his voice right up front in the mix, arguably almost to the detriment of the power base that makes music like this such a force to be reckoned with. That said, there's still a huge degree of furious guitar riffing, chord changes and tricky twists and turns along the way, and the compositions are the sort of thing that you really have to listen to more attentively than usual on first listen, if only to get inside the band's way of thinking, and get on with the singer's impassioned, if somewhat dry, delivery. The production is excellent but the combination of the fuzzed-up riffing with the clean-cut, up-front vocals, is something to get used to. Occasionally, on a track such as 'Six' it does sound more cohesive as the instruments are more upfront. It's safe to say that, while this is a band album, it's the singer's show, and if you get on with the guy and his lyrics, then it's a winner.

MY RUIN: The Brutal Language CD
With 10 tracks in just under forty minutes, this is one raging inferno of rock, the metal mayhem under control, as furnace-heat playing takes hold. That their vocalist is the infamous, gravel-throated female rocker, Tairrie B, is somehow so fitting, as she tears her lungs out on practically every track yet still retains feeling, the effect intensifying as the album continues. What also works are the arrangements where you feel like their piling all their ideas on in one fell swoop, as this seeming army of guitars, bass and drums, pound out a series of swinging, swaying, rocking riffs and rhythms, the vocals hollered on top somewhere between a rock and a hardcore! The songs aren't exactly memorable, but then that's not what this is all about - go for the throat, not the heart.

NAILED: A Pure World Is A Dead World CD
Well, it's only thirty-two minutes long and there are 9 tracks, but trust me, you couldn't survive more than that, for this is one of the most crushingly heavy slices of rampaging Death Metal that you'll have encountered. It takes no prisoners and becomes this nuclear force howl of rifle-fire drums, disemboweling bass and napalm-soaked, on-fire guitars, the vocal growl rising and falling in the mix to jaw-dropping effect. Forget understanding the words - just feel the heat. This lot crush you mercilessly then drive up and down over your lifeless corpse, enjoying every minute of the experience. It's intensity personified, it's smokingly addictive and it's so heavy you expect the floor to give way any minute. But it's produced immaculately so that every facet of what's going on, right down to the cascading and erupting lead guitar soloing is as clear as a bell over the armed warfare that's going on in the background. Overall, it's monumental and quite quite brilliant.

NECROCEST: Dead Pretty CD
Uncompromising!! Brutal death metal that is delivered in that trademark, low-down, growling, animal voice that is the defining qualities of most of these bands. Full of driving, searing, full-on riffs and rhythms in the middle, while rifle-fire rhythms are set on kill at one end , with more dynamic performances at the other, so that track 4's full-on roar is matched by the chiming guitars that open the next track, but after a minute, back comes the vocalist, the rhythms achieve light speed and those low-down grunting vocals, while fitting like as glove, do get on your wick after a while if you're not an out and out fan of the style.

NIGHTMARE VISIONS: NVIII CD
Third album from a band you probably haven't heard before and I have to say that it's rather good - well, I don't HAVE to say it, but I will - this is rather good!! In fact it's pretty f**kin' awesome - shame there's only four tracks and twenty-six minutes of it, but that's better than a kick in the teeth - although it's arguable as to whether or not you aren't getting just that, judging by the power unleashed on this CD. But it's a latent power, a slow-motion power, a power that smoulders rather than blazes, only to build into this amazing conflagration of thickly riffing guitars, crystalline pounding bass thunder and crashing, crunching drums with lead guitar work scything away on top. The album starts with the slow-burning five minutes of 'I Am The Sadness' before increasing the intensity with an even more evil and guitar-rich sizzler in the form of 'Moments of Vision' as growled but sung vocals deliver a suitably evil song over the churning guitar riffing and rhythmic multi-paced power, gradually increasing both pace and density over its six minutes running time.'Sun Sets Forever' starts in a similar vein, until two minutes in when the band fire the turbo up and go supernova, headlong into a blaze of metal mayhem as the riffing becomes rifle-fire and the rhythms positively ferocious, yet all the time with that searing heat of lead guitar chords shining above the whole song, to excellent extent, this time the semi-growled vocals more part of the mix, but still lyrically audible, a testament to the excellent production upon which this is founded. The final track, 'Rainbows End' lasts over nine minutes and simply takes everything you've just heard into furnace heat territory with the band building a head of steam and heading storm-force through a burning path of molten metal riffing and rolling, heavy as lead and hot as the sun. By the end, suddenly twenty six minutes does not seem short at all, and you understand why this is the case - any more and it would be overdone - a it stands, it leaves you wanting more - so you just put it all on again and relive the experience - a trip well worth repeating.

NIOTA: Cold Red CD Single
Debut recording for Casket Music and it's a 2-tracker, of which the first, 'Paper Fuse', after a couple of seconds intro from chiming guitar, simply erupts on your senses in a blaze of wall-to-wall guitars and rhythms as this hell-for-leather roar rings out, the intensity needle going ever nearer "10" a the track continues, the vocalist providing a throat-throttling performance of half hollered-half sung vocals that sails above the cooking cauldron of metal density, to perfection. It's all so gloriously fierce and yet solid listening enjoyment at the same time - quite superb! But if this one rocked, then the four minute 'Shatter' is an inferno, as the intensity goes way past "10" and the band launch themselves with the effect of an explosion in a firework factory, taking over your head, heart, feet and practically all points in between, with a mix of nu-metal, death-metal and hardcore that is so powerful and yet so passionate, you can't help but fall under its spell. Never has the lack of a hook sounded so addictive - the album should be a stunner if this is anything to go by.

ODD MAN OUT: It All Ends Here CD
Debut album and it's a highly charged affair that we hahve before us. The vocals are right upfront so that you can clearly hear every word, while, instrumentally, the production is crisp and clear, even on all the occasions that the band launch into action and power up with a vengeance. As a mix of songs based, vocally, around the idea of sung and shouted vocal, often at the same time, it is a seriously hot album. Despite the facts that there are a lot of bands around right now in this "nu-metal" area, this group has something slightly different to offer, with some thought-provoking lyrics, while at the same time really driving ahead and delivering the goods with a rage and passion that is truly awe-inspiring. The music provides a great deal of variation with twists and turns from the rhythm section one minute, followed by all out warfare, the next, while on top the two guitarists whip up a storm and, especially so on other tracks, create a melting pot that mixes riffs, dynamics, steaming lead breaks. There is a breath of fresh air about this band - they are not another in the line of post-FFAF wannabe's - and their brand of lyrical and urgent indie-metal is what separates them from the rest. Hot stuff.

PSYLENCE: Through Distorted Eyes CD
10 tracks in just under 40 minutes always bodes well for a thrashy hardcore band and this is a hot one. Everything is delivered with a fiery intensity that threatens to take it off the rails as the rhythmic assault steamrollers into your skull amid a blitz of guitars riffing and roaring away in manic fashion. On top of all this the vocalist, for there is only one, despite what you might think, exhibits a range of singing from a growl to anthemic harmonizing that takes this onto another plain altogether. Then, if all that wasn't enough, there's a guy on decks and samples who puts the icing firmly and squarely on the already sumptuous hardcore cake, and the use of the famous Martin Luther King speech amid the mayhem that is 'Equality', is nothing short of jaw-droppingly brilliant. Elsewhere the album rages and rolls in whirlpools and undercurrents of immense sounding guitars and rollercoaster rhythm section, with song after song doing their bit to infect every part of you with adrenaline-drenched addiction as you headbang your way to heaven. This is fantastic and no mistake - an album you must get, a live set you must see and a band to watch, as they surely climb inexorably higher up the nu-metal ladder.

RIVERCLUB: Long Before I Reach The Phone CDEP
Yes, yes yes - this is the stuff! This is what they want!! Just the opener alone, the anthemic and addictive 'We're On Empty Again', is enough to convince you that, once you've stopped leaping around the room like a dervish, this is a song to be treasured, to be enjoyed, to which you open all the windows and turn it up LOUD, singing along at the top of your voice. It's angst-fuelled indie story-telling with upfront vocals that fit like Cinderella's slipper and a sea of riffs and rhythms that chart this rocket-ride to your head and heart as the song ensues, so good that you're singing along and you don't even know the words yet!! Many would say it's commercial - they'd be right - but it's also got this huge sound - partially because they add an expanse of synths to the recipe, but it still remains a guitar-lover's paradise as the production lets the guitar work\\ fire off to perfection, the rhythm section sounding crystal clear and thunderous. Every song is a gem, full of passion and feeling, genuine emotion wringing out of every word as the intensity mixes with the clarity to produce five absolute gems. Stunning stuff for sure.

RSJ: Reflections In B Minor CD
Uncompromising hardcore that pummels you senseless with lefts from the bass and drums, rights from the guitarist while the vocals finish you off with the killer blow. Yet there is method in their madness, order in the chaos, and amid the terror, moments of clarity that make you realize there really is a human soul inside here - somewhere! Most of the album takes the traditional standpoint of "hard and fast", as the punishing rhythm section provide rifle-fire foundations as the molten mass of guitars riffs and roars its way to oblivion. The vocals are shouted, shrieked and strangled, occasionally even sung, all combining to make this exactly what the audience wants. But, with so many bands around doing this stuff, the audiences become ever more demanding, more discerning, so to be at the top of the tree, you can no longer rely on all-out assault - and this lot doesn't. Throughout the brutality you'll find hidden areas of angular rhythmic twists and turns, moments of comparable respite as arrangements take unexpected directional avenues, all of which makes you sit up and realize that even in the harsh world of hardcore, there is room for invention and humanity. This one touches your soul - at the same time as wrenching it from your twitching corpse.

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