NAMELESS CRIME were formed in 1999, Napoli Italy. The band was originally established as a thrash metal act before evolving into a rock metal band. After 16 years, the band is due to release their fourth album, "Stone the Fool", which solidifies the five piece as a brilliant edition to Italy's fast growing metal scene.

"Stone the Fool" is an exciting roller coaster of sounds. The albums introduction, "Almost Cold", which is a mixture of aggressive, machine gun guitar and soft, melodic orchestral sections, is just a taster of what's to come. The sounds are often very contrasting of each other yet they work. Songs like "Jesus Square Suicide" and "Dead End" have a real ferocity about them, with edgy guitar work and deep, husky vocals that go well together. Yet there are also some more dark, atmospheric tracks like "Suicidal" that consists almost entirely of bleak synthesizers.

They're so unique that I can't really think of a band that sounds like them, but there's definitely elements of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and ALL THAT REMAINS. But that's kind of their problem, After giving it a listen, it's very easy to conquer that metal core and progressive metal are the heart of the sound, and while they flow together, there's so much diversity on the record that it feels as though you're listening to a compilation of bands. It just seems as though they have no direction of sound and are going over board with experimenting.

While the guys are clearly excellent songwriters, their music also lacked an impact. To me, the heaviness of an instrument and the way that strikes you is one of the most important skills a band could possess because often it makes the music more striking. Yet, the guitar, drums, and bass just sound a bit too dry. The band must be doing well if they've survived 16 years, but personally, this is an album that won't stick around in my mind for very long and I don't think I ever would have bothered with it if I wasn't given it to review. It's very average.<