Acoda: Yours To Defend

Post-hardcore types try to keep up with their past

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This Corby-based quartet has an EP, some major metal festivals, excitable critical praise and a Funeral For A Friend support slot to show since their 2008 formation, but this will be their first proper full-length.

It houses all the tracks from their recent self-titled EP plus six fresh tracks and, pleasingly, the constant battle between aggressive and cleaner vocals is still firmly at the forefront of the band’s sound. Damon Tang holds his own as a credible and passionate frontman, too, but the concerning fact remains that the familiar tracks are more impressive than the new material.

The euphoric chorus and fierce complementary growls of V For Ventriloquist are impossible to ignore. Also, while the first single is exciting, some of the other early album tracks drag a little. Still, as things progress, melodies finally come to the forefront and the band delve into braver, more interesting song structures with the ballad-like Daws Heath and the eerie atmospheric quality of Two Of A Kind.

If they can dig up more tracks of this calibre, the rest of the British metal scene should start to watch their backs.