Kyrbgrinder: Chronicles of a Dark Machine

This London-based rock trio brings old school rock standards to the table, featuring award—winning drummer Johanne James (Threshold) who also mans the the lead vocal duties. Even though the band lays down fervent pulses amid Aaron Waddingham's (Land of Cain) weighty guitar phrasings and Dave Lugay's sturdy bass lines, the primary focus here is firmed up via a collection of memorable works that are tinted with flavorful pop -rock overtones.

There are shades of heavy metal but no guttural vocals or Judgment Day overtures. James' concise, poignant and regal vocal choruses instill a touch of charm that nicely counters the in-your- face, foot-stomping beats. Waddingham's tasty solo spots and brawny crunch chords instill a potent force-field with the rhythm section's alternating metrics, namely when they shift gears and upsurge the tempo —all benefited by the pristine audio engineering job that yields a detailed soundstage.

"Oxygen" commences with an acoustic-electric interlude, followed by the guitarist's gut-wrenching chord developments and a few twists and turns that impart components of British folk. Here and throughout, melody is a key ingredient whether the group is executing sinister undercurrents or grinding out choruses that meld grunge rock with shadowy metalloid inferences. Moreover, the musicians fuse brisk unison overtures with soft harmonic applications that pose a multi-dimensional trajectory, coinciding with compositions that contain a great deal of staying power.