Red Enemy - 'What We Are Contained In Is What We Are' (Invictus Music) 4/5

It's been a while since we had a band out of the Irish Republic to make us sit up and take notice, recently it's been Wales that has been the musical powerhouse of these islands. However just to remind us that the Emerald Isle is still rocking we have this rather tasty ep from Red Enemy.However don't think for a single minute that because this lot are from Eire that your gonna get Horslips style folksy shenanigans, U2 style stadium rock or even  Thin Lizzy you like jiggy hardrock. Far from it. Red Enemy play hardcore with a capital 'ard and take about as many prisoners as Brian Boru did at the Battle of Clontarf.

This five tracker is brutal to the extreme - cuts like Betrayal and No One Will Remember Our Names attack your ears and sensibilities with all the power, rage and anger of a gang of feral youths on a looting spree in Croydon. Guitar riffs bark away like machine gun fire, drums pound the ears with a relentless tattoo and over it all is some menacing growled vocalisations that spit venom and bile like the wrath of the Morrigon.

I've gotta admit I am partial to a bit of hardcore from time to time and as far as hardcore stuff goes this is one of the best debuts I've encountered in a fair while, It's tight and in your face without ever loosing control of the feeling of pent up menace the ep generates. I can see Red Enemy becoming big players in the angry world of hardcore - Highly Recommended

For fans of - Converge, The Bled, Dillinger Escape Plan etc...

Kids In Glass Houses - 'In Gold Blood' (roadrunner) 4/5

This is the third full length opus from young Cardiff based upstarts Kids In Glass Houses, and marks a significant change from their older material. This album has ditched a lot of the pop punk sensibilities and sees the band heading in a more mainstream rock direction. Now I know this may cause the inevitable cries of 'sell out' from some of their older fans, but it will also make many people, like myself, who were not overly struck on their older material give them a second look.

To be honest In Gold Blood is a great rock album, Tracks Like Teenage Wonderland, Gold Blood and Animals are superb slices of commercial rock, catchy hooks, danceable beats and infectious grooves, yet at the same time intelligently constructed with great lyrics.And I've gotta give praise to the rhythm section of Andrew Shay and Philip Jenkins for driving the whole thing along with such energy.

Stand out tracks?  Well every one of the 11 songs on offer here is a winner, but I do have a particular liking to Fire with its lazy back beat and late night sax solo, Diamond Days - which sounds a little like a Don Henley track and Black Crush which provides the albums true rock out moment.

In a world where the commercial rock scene is too often dominated by bland insipid uninspiring tripe (yes Nickleback, Theory of A Deadman, 30 Seconds To Mars - I AM looking at you), this album is a breath of fresh air. Highly Recommended.

for fans of... Fightstar, Funeral For A Friend, Lostprophets, 30 Seconds To Mars etc...