One thing that Metal does better than just about any other form of music is to be loud. Loud and aggressive, quite often with very "shouty" overtones. This is really something I love about the genre as a whole, anything that can take intrusive and offensive noises and turn them into an art form is OK by me. Of course there is more to it than just being loud and angry, I'm not sure what that is but there must be mustn't there? I have heard so many variations on loud noises over the years and although I've not really been able to pin down my favourite style, I seem to have settled on a vague area that gets my loins growling. WITH ALL THE RAGE have nicely surprised me and been smack bang on that mark and although their name may suggest something a little more on the Screamo side of things, this couldn't be further from the truth.

With the release of their second full length album - "Chained", these five very talented chaps from Sicily have secured their sound and indeed are set to stake a place for themselves on the European and potentially the world Metal scenes. The album opens with a pretty epic sounding instrumental track that runs for about 2 and a half minutes before deciding to just give in and let the ferocity commence. One of the things I really liked about this album is that unlike a lot of the other albums I've heard recently, it gets better as it goes on. The first few songs are fairly familiar sounding and I found myself preparing for another generic sounding play through. What really did stand out to me though were the vocals, Luca Cirrito's voice has all of the gritty things about it that tickle me in the man parts and get me hard. Before I knew it, the slightly more usual sounding songs had ceased to exist and the true character of WATR started to shine through. Intensely technical guitar parts and rhythms that drive their way in and out of the songs with ease and finesse. All the while each instrument serving as a perfect accompaniment to Luca's gravelly, beast-like vocals.

The energy behind the music is visceral and this can be heard so clearly throughout the album. Even the bizarrely out of place instrumental "Dedicated To Nothing" is a testament to quiet rebellion. This fervor is something that is so clearly missing in the other releases that I've heard recently and it has put these guys firmly on my radar. All in all, this is the best album of shouty, loud noises that I have heard in a very long time.