Are You Scared Yet?
This Is Menace is a unique hybrid of all the bands that are out making a lot of noise in the music scene at the moment. Featuring Mark Clayden, Jason Bowld, Colin Doran, Casey Chaos, Karl Middleton and Andy Cairns (to name a few) their creation, No End In Sight, is a vicious onslaught of blood, guts and the kind of metallic chug that should be issued from a large tanker rather than a group of young men. Kicking off with 'Deadman', the album quickly settles into the aggressive roar that continues into 'Cover Girl Monument'. Vocals found on this album are easy on the ears, sitting somewhere between melody and a dark growl. This Is Menace is a diverse and flexible outfit, a band set-up that allows all its contributors to try something different. The purr of 'Predisposed' before breaking into a bloodthirsty rage is a delicious change to the heavy guitars that are at the forefront of the This Is Menace sound.
This Is Menace wish to be taken as a whole, without focus upon any particular member. This democratic setting, usually so unhealthy in your average band, allows the members to grow and add in their own flourishes to the music. From the menacing mid-song growl of 'Incite' to the masculine warbling on 'The Nameless', it's an album of both conformity and diversity. Overall, the album launches no real surprises upon the listener, yet it's a refreshing listen and one that is likely to be repeated again and again. Personal favourite 'The Nameless' gives way to 'Onward Christian Soldiers', a gory blend of bold guitars and spit hurling
'Totality' is another blinding track and is filled with a primal emotion... so raw and so easily felt beneath the aggressive outer shell. If group-counselling sessions had people this talented attending, it is likely 'Totality' would be the outcome. Final tracks 'Dark Matter' and 'Displacement' both attack like brutal sledgehammers to the skull, with the latter sounding much like a reversed shotgun. Violent, brutal, smothered in blood and quite clearly the most talented group of individuals to hook up for quite some time, you had better hope This Is Menace are going to be around as a group for some time.