Def-Con-One - II

Yes, my fellow metalheads, England still turns out some kick ass metal bands. You betcha.You may remember my review of Def-Con-One's first full-length album, Warface, a couple of years ago. Being exposed to the Newcastle quartet for the first time, I was struck by how they wore their musical influences on their sleeves (and speaking of sleeves, you could do a full episode of LA Ink on these guys alone) while still managing to have their own sound. I'm happy to say they've realized that evolution as a band with their new release, II.

Built on a solid foundation of metalcore, there are certainly a lot of similarities to bands like Pantera, as on tracks like Debt To Society or H8 Ball. While tracks like Soul Possessed will casually throw out a great Sabbath-y drone when you don't necessarily expect it for a more old school feel. But, what should get emphasis here is that while you can definitely still hear those influences, the band continues to develop their own sound, as on Skinhead Shaped Dent with its punctuating King's X-style chord, or the doom metal opening to Need A Reason that becomes a cathartic, screaming chorus a la Sevendust. It's a good sign to be able to hear a band's sound progress naturally like this, and I bet their live show is classic heavy metal goodness.

The Bottom Line: This is great angry metal for when you need that tension release while you rock the fuck out, and I think these dudes are at the beginning of what should be a long career. Cheers, mates!

Tracks That May Likely Turn All Of Your Clothes Black: Broke, Soul Possessed, Need A Reason, Debt To Society, and Damned Disgrace

- Genghis may have pulled a hamstring moshing around his office...