Edinburgh quintet hoping to bring the world to its hardcore metal door with a debut EP featuring five tracks of roaring contemporary metal, produced by Nick Scholey. So, does it do what they want? Does it have the desired effect? Indeed, can you listen to it at home without running out screaming? The answer is actually “yes” to all three. They open things up with “Daae” and immediately you are hammered into a world of wildly riffing, scything guitars, fast-paced drumming, mighty resonant bass and the sort of guttural vocals that you get on many a death metal release, the diference here being that you can actually hear the words as the singer is awre that, while he wants to roar, there is a song to be heard, and he's gonna make darn sure you hear it. Add to that the complexities of the arrangement which are mixed with a river of melody that runs, sometimes almost unknowingly, through the track, and the recipe is a complete success for a band that, in such a crowded musical field, really manages to stick its deathly head above the rest and come out with something refreshing and playable. “Echoes” is a tad sludgier and, as a result, goes a bit deeper into the traditional mire of death metal bands, but the staccato rhythms that thunder, the bass that erupts and the ever present guttural vocal, all combine with a guitar attack that splinter off like sections of the sun, riff like a burning comet and there's even something resembling a vocal hook along the way to give the song a more refreshing identity, the more ot goes on, so that while it might have started predictably, by the middle, you've got something very different and most welcoming, as a delicate mid-song instrumental sees the guitars soar and solo, before the piece sails back into its metal mayhem, only this time slower and mixed with the melodic guitars. Quite superb!! “Fireworks” starts with anything but, as tasty, chiming guitars open up a song with a slow melodic pace, ringing out to perfection as the rhythm section slowly unwinds and you suddenly realise that this is a wondrous respite from the muscle as the band provide a solid yet heartwarming instrumental to show that they have a sensitive side, can really play and know how to compose and arrange what constitutes excellent music, so much so that by the time it erupts into an anthemic finale, your faith in instrumental guitars-driven rock has been restored – heck, there's even a Scottish flavour to it – national anthem, anyone? Then, to prove a point again, the band explode into “Turns Out He's Luke's Father” as the most roaring slice of death metal on the EP so far is unleashed with nuclear force and yet, there's still that sense of melody running through its veins, allied to more twisting and turning arrangements as the guitars scythe the air, the rhythms thunder, the vocals have the desired effect and the whole becomes greater than the parts, vocal topping things off with jaw-dropping force. The EP ends with “Paint The Sky” and more mighty metal ensues on another excellent example of the genre. All told, this band has definitely got what it takes to get noticed in this arena full of the things, and this EP is faultlessly played, written, sung and produced to ensure that this is a band who illustrate on CD the absolute strength and conviction that they must exhibit in a live situation.