Metalcore is the genre that just won't die. Armchair critics have been talking about its inevitable decline in popularity for years now, but KILLSWITCH ENGAGE have never been bigger, BRING ME THE HORIZON can fill arenas and there's a wealth of hungry young acts like BURY TOMORROW climbing the ladder. Away from the big names and mass-media favourites however, there's still a few folks who remember when Metalcore wasn't popular at all. In fact it was ugly and uncompromising music for antagonistic bastards with crosses tattooed on their hands.

Step forward VATICAN; five lads from Savannah Georgia with an EP so violent it might as well come with its own prison sentence. The breakdowns are thick, the vocals strangulated and the blastbeats completely merciless. This is Metalcore that's been prized from the bloody corpse of DESPISED ICON and would rather drop a dishwasher on its own mother's head than get singing lessons for the sake of a chorus.

Quite why they chose to name themselves after the centre of the Catholic Church will have to remain a mystery but when you have the likes of "Begotten" threatening to kick your teeth in, there's very little opportunity to ask. There's nothing holy or benign about "Barely Breathing" or "Shiver" either, each is a deranged roar of macho rage and they're only topped by the excellent closer "Sanctuary," a murderous anti-anthem that could take a knife to a gun fight and win.

Consequently, VATICAN are difficult to recommend unless you're a Metalcore diehard but if you miss going to sweaty underground gigs in New York during the 90s, they'll be right up your street. They're a vicious, unbending band and while they won't be bothering the charts any time soon, this is going to start some mean pits with the faithful.