Album review: Feed The Rhino – The Silence

Here the five-piece take that hardcore tendency of metal they have liked to showcase and added new elements to create a more rounded sound that doffs caps to those 90s influences like Deftones.

The fiery choruses will resonate with fans. Timewave Zero slams straight in with ferocity and bile in vast supply. It’s a warning sign of a song. If you don’t like the fierce blasts here then it is best to turn back while your eardrums still can – this won’t be a record for you.

The pained vocals here will resonate with the fans of Deftones if they have not come across FTR before. The way Lee Tobin holds court over the interludes mirrors that of Chino Moreno.

They have a lot of feeling to push out. Losing Ground plays host to some deep and slowed verses that don’t match a lot of what else comes around it. The tension builds up to a thumping chorus that stops just short of a wall of sound with its gritty, slick guitars.

There is some good old fashioned thumping metal in Nerve Of A Sinister Killer. More than a hint of Down slips in to the album at times and the choruses here are one example. It’s great to see a band take a little bit of this from one group, a little of that from a different genre, stirring it all up and giving something pretty nailbiting as a result. As with Losing Ground, the guitars here are mesmerising.

Lost In Proximity is another angst-fuelled slam through the growls of Tobin’s inner throat. It’s siren-like interludes will put you on edge from start to finish.

While some will find the fast-faster-faster-again song scripting a little hard to stay with, those of a louder disposition will find a lot they can relate to throughout.

An instant classic? No. An example of modern British songwriters coming up with new ideas by recycling aspects of the old? Absolutely. A good effort indeed!

Rating: 7/10

Feed The Rhino play Birmingham’s The Flapper on March 3.