This might well be one of my strangest discoveries this year; French Hardcore/Thrash band, RISE OF THE NORTHSTAR, who are set to release their debut album, "Welcame" this November. Their eclectic mix of Thrash, Groove and classic Hardcore, is intriguing enough, yet the band is almost entirely based around Japanese subcultures; Manga in particular, from which their name is derived.

The more I think about it, I've never had more mixed feelings about a record in my life; my indecisiveness in whether I love or am totally turned off by this album is staggering. "What the Fuck" opened with great promise and great power, but ultimate; that is all it was: a premise. A premise that achieved in heaviness, but rather failed in other areas; the repetitiveness of the riffs and the triviality of the lyrics are hard to get past; the title track didn't do much to resurrect it, though I do love the bass work going on.

"The New Path" was easily the best track on the record; at the very least, it breaks the drudging nu-metal tempos... For the most part. The opened riff is unmistakably thrashy, and well-crafted, heavy-as-hell grooves leave molten craters. I may be critical of the songs themselves, but this track is a testament to their musicianship; they are truly stellar performers, and the production of the album does them justice, a pristine prism through which the colours of the instruments shine.

Unfortunately, however, there is very little variation from here on; 8 tracks of what is, for the most part, rather unadventurous riffing, constricted to the same, very few chord progressions. If that does not bother you, then please, do not heed my words. You best hope that the excruciatingly-obvious hip-hop permutations do not bother you either; they may work for fans of bands such as SLIPKNOT, LIMP BIZKIT or HACKTIVIST, but not for me.

I can see this album appealing to enthusiastic Nu-Metal and Hardcore fans, but aside from that, I feel as if it's rather unfortunately lacklustre, save a couple of obviously-stellar tracks.