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Engaging and intense melodic rock with an aggressive grunge-metal edge...

Following the success of their EP in 2002, the critical acclaim for 2003's debut album, 'Biting Insomnia', and having racked up an impressive two hundred plus live shows (touring with the likes of Oceansize, Kinesis, Martin Grech even Whitesnake) Fulc return with the impressive six track mini-album, 'Embrace. Destroy'.

And up until now, Fulc have certainly been well received, with a general consensus that the band are going to be one of the biggest contenders on the UK rock scene - an assertion that is strongly reiterated by 'Embrace. Destroy'. Throughout this mini-album Fulc display the real quality of their song writing ability by putting melodies you can sing to and Duane Walker's raw, intense and emotionally wrought vocals alongside powerful metal guitar and infectious hooks.

All six tracks on 'Embrace. Destroy' are equally brilliant and each time you listen to the album you'll find yourself with a new favourite depending on which of the gigantic choruses has managed to bury itself the deepest into your consciousness... therefore, it's difficult to pick out individual tracks. 'Embrace Destroy' is a startling opener, setting the standard for what is to follow, with its driving, metallic guitar sound and a big, powerful riffs. 'Owes Nothing' has a fantastic melody that is exploited to the max by Walker's impassioned vocals, while 'Wasting' opens with an dark, intense guitar work that builds into what is perhaps the album's most aggressive track, blending huge, sinister sounding hooks, pounding drums and fierce vocals. 'System' emphasises the vibrancy of Fulc's sound; beginning with gentle guitar and bass the song rises and falls, speeds up and slows down, to create a grunge-metal masterpiece that keeps you fully engaged throughout it's five minute duration. 'Pedestal' is another example of the band's ability to combine edgy metal guitar with sing along melodies, whilst Walker's vocals rocket from a grungy roar to a piercing call to arms. Finally, 'Entrapment' has a slow, smouldering start, but is soon set ablaze by the song's fervent aggression, closing the album just as well as it began.

Overall, Fulc produce an album full of emotional intensity; the relatively simple lyrics are poignant and effective and their aggression always feels heartfelt rather than contrived. If this engaging and impassioned album is anything to go by it's no wonder that Fulc are being hailed as one of Britain's brightest hopes.