NO TIN GODZ is a trio of musicians from Austin, Texas. Their self-titled EP carefully spends its limited playtime to craft a rather wholesome experience, although it may struggle with some lack of identity. NO TIN GODZ plays Heavy Metal with a wide variety of influences including alternative metal. The groves and vocal lines on the opening track "I Walk Alone" reminded me of the bands like KORN or MUSHROOM HEAD. All that influence is mixed with the husky clean vocals that gave me a strong association with AVENGED SEVENFOLD, or maybe even GODSMACK at times. The people who like this kind of vocals will know what I'm talking about and I would recommend them to check out NO TIN GODZ.

This EP is quite enjoyable if you're willing to turn a blind eye to some secondary stuff. The lyrics are quite standard, there is practically no musical novelty, and some elements of it sound quite archaistic by modern standards. For instance, the song "Different Day", with its countless flageolets and industrial-like guitar grooves surprisingly brought me back to the times when OZZY came up with "Black Rain" in the mid-2000s. The closing track "Hell Yeah" with its "Revolution/Devilution" kind of rhyming knocked the ground out from under my feet. I think I first heard this rhyme - or at least a very similar one - when I was a kid, and the source must have been the VENOM's "Hell". I'm not even sure if they were the ones to come up with it, but ever since this kind of rhyming bears a strong feel of a cliché to me.

Thus, what matters is what you're utilizing this music for. It is perfect for so-called "background listening". It's a great addition to a gym playlist, or for driving a car when you need something energetic not to fall asleep. However, I'm afraid NO TIN GODZ is lacking some food for thought that would deepen the listening experience. The music is well-performed but hardly provokes the listener's imagination because it lacks interesting progressions and unexpected moments, and generally sounds like something you heard many times before. In other words, NO TIN GODZ sounds a little too safe. With that being said, it is the band's debut record. They seem to have skillful musicians and a quite good singer. I wish that the band will learn from this record's experience, and strive toward finding a little more personal sound. NO TIN GODZ already sounds quite pleasant and comfortable. Perhaps, they need a little bit of the opposite.