Albums

None The Less - The Way To Save Ourselves

Craig Broad 21/06/2009

Rating: 3.5/5

How many bog standard cliché metal bands can you say have come out of the British music scene within the last couple of years? Hundreds, easily and of these hundreds, you just know that the majority of them have copied each other whether it be through guitar sound, look or just CD design. Enter None The Less, a relatively new band having originally formed in 2007, which have not surprisingly toured with the likes of Sikth, Exit Ten and Devil Sold His Soul. This, their debut mini album, The Way To Save Ourselves is released through Irony Records and after coming fifth place in Best Unsigned Band by Kerrang and being billed to play at this years Download, is an album that in certain circles may have a small sense of expectation behind it.

From artwork to look, as previously written, None The Less fit in with any nu-skool British metal band that has come before them but with The Way To Save Ourselves, that is where the comparison ends. Full of refreshing ideas, technical guitar that is challenging but remains melodic, this isn't a band just happy to rip your face off with a guitar riff, this is a band that wants to challenge you and make you think. Vocally, is where None The Less really win you over with beautifully crafted backing melodies and a sing / scream interplay that comes across as neither predictable or cliché and you only have to look at closing track I Feel Like Your Enemy to hear an example of how a great use of vocals can make a whole album sound amazing.

Underground metal bands are ten a penny in Britain but it takes a really good band to make you sit up and actually listen. None The Less may not have the backing that their counterparts do but if The Way To Save Ourselves is anything to go by, it won't be long until they do.

http://www.myspace.com/nonethelessonline