This is a double CD from the band that topped the MTV2 most wanted chart for a whole 10 days with debut video ‘No Allies.’ So they are not strangers to commercial appeal and hopefully with the release of this EP on Rough Justice Records they can once again achieve some degree of commercial success as they have worked hard to get where they are and deserve all the publicity they received for ‘No Allies’ and their album, ‘The Mark’ as it was a long trawl getting to there.
CD1 of this double whammy features the tracks Smoke & Mirrors, Sell The Vain and Re-Alignment (also features a CD-Rom video of Smoke & Mirrors.) This is my favourite of the 2 discs and it features tracks from their heavier side and this is my favourite disc of the two as it has so much raw aggression and power that you are automatically drawn into it and listen on as it is excitement filled and really gets the juices flowing. The guitar playing has a raw growl about it and the drumming is nicely paced to go with the aggressive vocals which they have to throw at you. It is an awesome mix and makes all three tracks special – but makes ‘Smokes and Mirrors’ stand out most as it is definitely a cut above the rest as it has anger and emotion at the same time with the emotion coming from the vocals and pure aggression being beat out of the instruments to make a fine, fine tune. So this is my favourite of the two as in my opinion it has the stronger tracks on it and is really quite heavy and aggressive which is always good to hear in a band.
Disc 2 on the other hand features their more melodic tunes with tracks Lost No.7, No Allies and Broken. Right from the set off you can tell that it is not going to be as aggressive or angry as the first disc as it is much more soothing and emotional with melodic, emotional vocals being used to accompany soothing beats that create a light sound and this disc is definitely the total opposite of the first one. It just goes to show that they can go from one extreme to another and pull it off and it really shows that although there is an aggressive side of their music there is also a side that is really emotion filled and mind soothing. The pace really slows down for this second disc and although it is still alright, I think they should stick to what they do best and make more tracks like on Disc 1 as that is the disc that I think people will buy this EP on the basis of.
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UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
