Rocking out at us from Leeds, is the Hard Rock  heaviness of DAY OF THE JACKAL and their debut EP, "Puppet Show".  These guys are playing hard rock in a pure, big balls, take it or leave it fashion. It's fun, and refreshing in an era of people trying to reinvent the hard rock wheel. We only have three tracks here to form an opinion, but thankfully, I think it's pretty sufficient to get an idea of what DAY OF THE JACKAL is all about, though I wish there had been at least a couple more tracks. Even the addition of a cover would have been welcome.

First things first, this release has all the feel of a self produced demo EP. The production may be lacking, but the energy and sincerity of the music still manages to come through. The band is ace, with Steve Murray wailing away on lead, and a pair of Richards (McLachlan and Maw respectively) holding down a potent rhythm section. Front and center we have Andrew Overfield's perfectly suited gritty vocals and steady riff rhythm guitar.

"Riskin' it All" kicks off this short journey with an aggressive, "fuck you", cocky feel and really allows Murray to show his chops for the solo. It's a confident track, and one that shows these boys are working well together. "Til the Devil" blends that confidence into an almost late 80's metal vibe that still retains that aggressive edge. The production really hinders here, as the song's intricacies really get lost in the mix. With a better production, this would be a perfect modern heavy radio fit. A shame really.

"Puppet Show" closes out with a defiant return to the cocky almost punish vibe of  "Rock N Roll Deathride" I found this last track to be my favorite, and oddly reminiscent of something METALLICA would do. Particularly, Overfield's vocals here reminded me of Hetfield minus all the excessive "yeahs".  I really didn't think I would like this one as much as I did. Thankfully, the band's energy and exuberance bust forth from the muddy mix to save the day. The three songs here on "Puppet Show" show plenty of promise. Please, somebody get them into a proper studio for a proper release. I'll be keeping my eyes and ears on alert for it.