Reviewed by Ian Webber

Hailing from Santa Cruz, California, this five-piece group are signed to the loud and aggressive music specialists SkyBurnsBlack and fit perfectly into an underground, heavy style. This EP, whilst consisting of only three tracks, lives up to the label's reputation and is a head-on assault of hardcore music and guttural screams. Described as death metal, there are far too many melodic overtones to pigeonhole Above The Storm into one genre. There is intense, pounding drumming with seamless changes in pace along with a harsh vocal growl, but melodic guitar sections give this recording an underlying classic metal sound. The opener, "Halo Of Bats", showcases how technical this band is with its blistering speed followed by an outro of tight breakdowns. The title track is slightly less interesting as a song, being played at one pace - frenetic - but it paves the way for the more experimental and progressive "Underdogs". This is the only track to include a clean vocal sound and mixes up the rhythms and riffs to produce a complex mixture of sounds along with lyrics full of hope and purpose that capture the listener and show much promise for the future. As a whole, the recording is well mixed, allowing the listener to appreciate the band's skills and layered performance. Having shared a stage with the likes of Haste The Day and Silent Planet, this is a band who have all the tools to build on this far too short, but sturdy, foundation.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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