Madina Lake

Whoever let such a reckless collection of genres (thrash, metal, emo, electronica) get together in the same band is in for one serious public safety lawsuit. But with dangerous hybrid Madina Lake still at large in the community, it falls to us to at least slap a mark out of 10 on their back before someone lazily compares them to Enter Shikari. Thing is, while the Chicagoans should not exist according to all known laws of rock, they fact that they do is useful: they’ve made a debut that, at its best, is both strong and hell-for-leather experimental. And that means that when a Machine Head fan and a Brand New fan meet in the virtual bus shelter of cyberspace, they’ll now have common ground. Good, yo?

Dan Martin

6 out of 10