From the northern boarders of Wales, DEFY ALL REASON confidently throw out an albums worth of heavy, southern tinged rock with their debut full length release, "The Road Ahead". With a solid, familiar, yet thankfully not clichéd sound, the four piece have delivered a record that shows their potential, but is at times frustrating, and which leaves them plenty of room to push on.

Opener "Midnight Train" (trains are actually really rock and roll come to think of it!) demonstrates the bands ability to carve catchy and uplifting vocal melodies into the solid, groove heavy backbone of the rhythm section. Vocalist Gavin Jones sounds invested in the words he sings, and the overall vibe is one of a band really enjoying themselves! The authenticity in the vocals is again evident on "Behind Those Eyes", a ballad with lyrics that many will really associate with, and a chorus that would surely lead to an impassioned crowd when played live. Unfortunately, towards the end of the song, the band try to quicken the pace, but it never really works, and so the final chorus just feels like a bit of a mess.

Other highlights, that really show what DEFY ALL REASON are capable of, include "Bad Taste Of You", with its thunderous groove, and "The Only One", another slower number that will again, really connect with an audience. The former of these tracks is enjoyable, yet equally frustrating, as the song (particularly the chorus) threatens to burst into life and become something really memorable, but it never quite reaches its full potential. A cover of the BON JOVI classic "Wanted Dead Or Alive" is thrown in too, which provides a great opportunity for a sing along!

The final track, "Redemption", rounds the album out strongly, with guitar work emoting the Wild West and dingy saloons - it's perhaps the song with the most personality on the album. More tracks like this would go down well, as, while not filler, much of the album suffers from tracks feeling overlong - ideas are drawn out, rather than honed to precision before being unleashed! This is a criticism that holds for much of the genre though, so clearly doesn't bother many people!

The overriding vibe from "The Road Ahead" is that DEFY ALL REASON are a band that enjoy what they do, and are more than capable musicians, with the capacity to deliver really solid and enjoyable hard rock. Unfortunately, while still an enjoyable listen, the band don't seem to reach their full potential on this record. However, with some more refinement and precision in the song writing, they would definitely be ones to watch for the future!<