It’s good, it’s vibrant and it rocks like a mother.

Rhyme may come from the fashion capital of Europe, Milan, but thankfully there ain’t nothing remotely fashionable about their oddly titled sophomore release ‘The Seed And The Sewage’ – their first release on Scarlet imprint Bakerteam Records. This band are forging their own, distinctive path with a sound that runs the gauntlet between grungy, riff heavy, chorus driven hard rock and something resembling groove metal. Think Black Stone Cherry on steroids mixed with a generous dose Pantera and you’ll be part of the way there. Stir in some acerbic, belligerent lyrics that hurl frustration and fury at the state of the world today and you have some potent and enlightening music on your hands.

The band say that they are inspired by 90s grunge bands such as Alice In Chains and Soundgarden but ‘Blind Dog’, with its grinding riff, is as close to grunge as you’re going to get on this album; but we are thankfully saved from all the melancholic nonsense you associate with that particular genre by a soaring vocal performance by Gabriele Gozzi. Apart from the distinctly metal flavours of tracks such as ‘The Hangman’ and a furious ‘Slayer To The System’, it’s the big fat juicy, drop tuned, guitar grooves provided by Matteo Magni – ably supported by bassist Riccardo Canato and the crisp, driving snare strokes of Vinny Brando – and some good, old fashioned hard rock dynamics that really captivate.

‘Manimal’, ‘Fairytopia’ (which takes a pop at the female modelling industry), ‘Brand New Jesus’ and ‘World Underground’ are chock full of cool grooves and offer-up tons of melody. The strident ‘Party Right’ is a particular favourite, mixing hard-hitting rock grooves with a fuck you punk attitude much in the same way as Warrior Soul did so well in their early nineties heyday. ‘Victim Of Downturn’, more of a menacing, mid-paced number, really shows what a good singer Gozzi is: his impressive range and spot-on vocal phrasing are clear for all to see on this song. They round things off by giving Depeche Mode’s ‘Wrong’ a right royal rockin’ kick up the ass.

I must say I’ve been won over by Rhyme’s fresh and exciting take on rock/metal. It’s good, it’s vibrant and it rocks like a mother! So you too should take a plunge into ‘The Seed And The Sewage’ and I guarantee you’ll come out smelling of roses with a big shit-eating grin on you face!

Alister Strachan