Oh, be still my beating heart. Long have I yearned for a band like ANTIMATTER, I am almost ashamed to say that before writing this review I had never heard of them. Based in the UK, ANTIMATTER are the 21st Century's answer to THE SMITHS. Formed back in '98 by singer/songwriter mastermind Mick Moss, ANTIMATTER have been going strong ever since.

Right from the get go one thing is evident; the vocals are spine-tingling. They blend synth, rock and goth perfectly; and quite frankly, for a one-man-band, pretty fucking impressive! I found myself focusing on the lyrics throughout the majority of the album and they actually brought tears to my eyes at some points. They're incredibly dark and moving and the amount of passion and emotion in the vocals is extremely desirable.

One thing I really admire about this album is the fact you can hear the metal elements, but it doesn't sound heavy. It's like they took the darkness out of metal and left the heaviness; much like what would happen if HIM and THE SMITHS spawned a dark, melancholic baby.

This album does, sometimes, have a tendency to lean towards "radio ballad" which does bug me somewhat but after a few minutes my frustration diminishes back to awe. One slight pet peeve is that the album does have a sense of repetitiveness, there's not many surprises and it's very basic in structure. Now this is only a slight pet peeve, as I said; the album doesn't need surprises or gimmicks to attract their audience, it is naturally superb.

This is an album not just for the morbidly-inclined, or even to the metal-head, but to everyone. To quote a favorite TV show of mine, "don't underestimate the power of darkness, even the purest of hearts are drawn to it".<