Andrew Danso

Emoticon kicks off from the Plymouth quartets last effort in similar territory, but on a greater scale, with bigger production values to boot. Definitions by their very definition tend to shut down debate, yet defining Daggers Drawn at the drop of a penny, is something worth debating.

Indeed, they pull in many directions, (combining progressive, technical, grunge, stoner rock), which help give the EP a lot of style and thankfully, not at the expense of substance. Yep, you can actually feel their disdain, opposed to a band chucking a few genres side by side; inevitably we could tag this ‘Gojira with added Alice and Chains’ or ‘Kyuss with added Machine Head’ but swimming for attractive buzzwords discredits any sort of identity for Daggers Drawn, who on the merits of their current material, are strong enough to sit beside the big guns.

The proof is usually in the pudding, and if you flick on opening cruncher, “Pariah Among The Lepers”, the transition through genres feels weightless, packing the desired punch through its steady execution. There’s a good amount of adrenaline to be burnt through second number “Midas In Reverse”, before it halts to open up with the colour of vocal harmony, while the technical and heavier “Emoticon” and “World of Lies” will grip those looking to kick the hinges off a door – we’d advise you to wear boots if that’s the case.

8/10 (Metal Mayhem UK)