An encouraging debut album from this Huddersfield based five piece that have been lauded by the Metal press and built up a solid reputation as a powerful live band. Whilst there are some strong songs to be found here the production is too flat and this does the band few favours, the end result being that at times they sound too restrained by far. That said there are plenty of positives and the material is a blend of Metalcore elements interspersed with the idiosyncrasies usually associated with the likes of System Of A Down and (thankfully) plenty of melody.

Head and shoulders the stand out tune is ‘Tick’, wisely chosen as a single. Boasting anthem-like qualities it has a mid-section vocal rap reminiscent of Mike Patton in his heyday as Faith No More‘s frontman. Other nods to FNM can be found on ‘The Worm’, ‘Paper Moon’, the downright bizarre ‘Uncle Sam’ and the frankly weird ‘omg’, but these are no mere pastiches; Nex being able to convey a real sense of originality and innovation. ‘Friday The 13^th’ packs a pummelling blow with a catchy refrain and is immediately accessible, another strong song that suggests this is a band with plenty of ability and definitely one to look out for when they come to your town.

A nice touch on this re-released package is the addition of some acoustic versions of their own material and a cover of Chris Cornell’s ‘Cant Change Me’ that showcases an alternative side to the band. If they can continue to build on this album then there is no reason at all why Nex can’t make a long-lasting impression on the Metal scene. And if they can hook up with a decent producer in a quality studio who knows what they might be capable of.