This Nottingham five-piece have built themselves quite a reputation on the live circuit which earned them a slot on main stage BOA last year. Having seen them on a couple of occasions I have to admit to never having heard their recorded material. They released an E.P. which managed to slip me by so I was intrigued to find out how they would sound on CD.
Clearly they have put a bit of effort into this, which is always a delight to see. Surprisingly it was produced by members of the band, though Dr. Hell and his assistants have done a neat job on recording it. Being familiar only with the handful of songs I have heard live, it took me a few listens to really get this album. Robototron is a highly memorable number that always gets the audience going, though upon first listen I wasn’t sure anything else could quite match up to that standard, simply failing to ignite interest. Three, maybe four listens later it began to click into place and I realised that actually this is rather good.
Okay, this is all very gimmicky, which we all know anyway and if truth be told, it’s a little childish too. This does come across ever so slightly as an in-joke that only the young ‘uns will really get and those with a few more years on them will shun. However, there is an aggressive stomp to these tracks that really makes me want in on the joke, particularly on the aforementioned ‘Robototron’ and ‘Architect Of Hate’ which marches steadily along through the ominous cloud created by the keyboards.
‘Blacken The Everything’ is possibly the stand out track of the album; a slow, atmospheric romp that creeps around lugubrious piano melodies and grim bell chimes, while the vocals come across with a ferocity that somehow wears a little thin on some of its tracks. ‘Horatius’ plays up to the heavy metal influences of the band, with some very Maideneque riffage with a melody reminiscent of ‘Wicker Man..’ ‘Choose Metal’ really does exactly what it says on the proverbial tin, and as you can probably guess the lyrics here are pretty simple and unchallenging…which it what we all want from time to time. If you’re after something modern and a bit on the ridiculous side that strikes a balance between Dimmu Borgir and Iron Maiden then you should check this record out.
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