Minneapolis based VIA are a Rock 'n' Roll act formed in 2013 and they have just recently signed up with Pavement Entertainment for their new album "Sanitize This". They have plenty of nice awards behind them including "Rockin' 101 - April 2014 Minnesota's Band Of The Month"

The album opens up with "Why Do You Play God" which opens up with some great drum grooves with an almost tribal quality to them before some nice heavy guitars slam into action. There's some good use of dynamics here, with each instrument making full use of their dynamic range to craft a good start to the album. Overall it has a very 90s feel to it, and is a little grungy in places.

"Uncle Sam" is a shorter track with a bit more energy to it, but again showing the bands good use of dynamics, with some great drumming that really builds the tension and drama here. The vocals are pretty emotive here with a little layering that is quite effective. "The Color Snow" is a nice track that reminds me a little of some FOO FIGHTERS material in places, with some great contrasting sections in the track.

The album carries on with a nice blend of tracks, and you can tell this band are about big riffs, from the chunky "Shroommates" to tracks like "Closets" which is a straight up rock of a track. The band has plenty to offer but at times it feels a little narrow, as they use the same kinds of sounds throughout. It makes for a good album at such a short length as this, but if they make anything longer it could prove challenging for them to keep it fresh throughout.

The album closes with "Come Find Me" which has quite a melancholic sound to it, with an interesting sound overall, with a nice buildup and vocal layering throughout making this a good closer for the album.

Overall this is a good effort from VIA with plenty of great moments for fans of Hard Rock, and the production is stellar throughout. Worth looking into, and they sound like they would make for some great live moments.<