Musically this EP has it together.  These lads have hit the nail on the head.  The combination of flavours borrowed from a few different genres, has brought together an interesting few tracks here. There’s a lot going on in each song, using interesting dynamics and a vocal style that refreshing to hear.  It lends itself to a hoarse Page Hamilton approach to the vocals as opposed to the ‘Chorus: shout loud/Verse: scream louder’ franchise.  Influences appear wide and varied, from the intensity of Napalm Death to the sinister riffing of Crowbar.  To the wall of sound of guitars perfected by Godflesh. Everything’s there, with the exception of anything that could be considered commercial or fashionable.  Listen up, Top 40 metal fans, you might learn something new.

Opening track, Limp Template is crackin’.  Sounds a bit like Mastodon in parts.  In a ‘tip of the hat’ kind of way rather than a ‘rob your wallet’ sort of way.  And their involvement of some of their more experimental side only makes the listening experience more tasty.  You can’t predict what’s going to happen.  Awesome. ‘Somnial Hex‘, the fifth tune, displays this well and with that big evil stomping domineering riff overshadowing everything, keep you listening intently for the next time change.

The only critisism I could suggest might be the actual mix of the recording. Some small adjustments on guitar tone would beef this up a lot.  Just sayin’.  Also, the experimental element could be tinkered with and perhaps highlighted a little bit more.  But overall, they’ve earned a new fan here anyway.

Listen to it, love it.

Drop-d Rating:  8/10

http://drainland.bandcamp.com/