Without Remorse - Myspace tracks review

This Dartford, Kent (UK)-based five-piece immediately kick your face in with the brutal assault of the brilliantly titled "Death From Above" - let's face it, just can't go wrong with a title like that! Good ol' school chuggy guitar work underscoring vocalist Luke's throat-ripping words, yet there's something more musical about Without Remorse than many of their contemporaries. Not content just to tear off your ears and punch your brain like many bands do, this lot want to stir up your brain with some Southern Rock style melodics before they finish the job with a drumstick through your eyeball. "Death From Above", at least on Myspace, is let down only by the quality being a bit lower than you'd want, perhaps a downside to recording live, but if you like what you hear - as we do here at NM - then it's good enough to make you want to hunt down better or hope that they can record better.

"Blood Soaked Eyes" is another live track that doesn't disappoint other than the slightly-tinny sound that can be put down to the live recording. Southern sludge tempered with chuggy-melody-driven thrash but it seems as if Luke has morphed into Dani Filth on the microphone - don't get us wrong that's a stunning thing 'cos the blend of everything there will have you wanting this on a better recording to deafen the neighbours with. This is Cradle Of Filth extreme meets Nashville Pussy sludge.

"Waste Of Time (live)" suffers that same tinny effect as the first two, but again it's enough to prove that there's no pigeonholing Without Remorse in any specific genre of metal and making a style entirely of their own from a myriad of influences. "Bleed My Life" kicks in with some excellent hooks, and takes you on a journey through some down n' dirty hardcore of a quality that would put many of their signed-to-labels contemporaries to shame. "This Is Not The Way", the last track on the page for now, is extreme speed-metal in their own style with some great melodies that we reckon would have no trouble filling a mosh-floor with higher-quality recording.

Proof perhaps that there's no justice in the world when inferior bands get signed and a crew like this with genuine talent get overlooked. Well fuck the mainstream media, with their bias and their emo crap, bands like this are where the future of metal is at. This is one band we really want to see live, 'cos apart from the recording quality being a bit of a letdown - tho' that can often be put down to Myspace's online server compression being to blame, the quality of the musicianship and vocals is fraggin' excellent. From the live reviews we've read, we wouldn't be disappointed. Check their Myspace page for live dates, and get yerself through the door of the nearest venue.

NoiseMatters rated: (4/5)