BULLY [Enhanced]

Although 'bigged up' by the rock music press...I find it strange that 'Mainstream Distortion' havn't been thrust into the limelight yet. Their debut album 'Bully' ticks nearly every box a successful debut album needs to tick. The album opens and crashes into gear with thrash/electronic/industrial track 'Insect' (The album also features a cd video of 'insect' by cult film director Alex Chandon - of Cradle of Fear fame). Following the opening track - you get a pleasing taste for what kind of rough ride you're in for...the whispering aggression of 'my beautiful hate' follows...then into the teen angst digital warfare of 'your kind'. By now - if you havn't been careful you've probably damaged your hi-fi - but if no damage has yet been done - more delicacies await. 'Thrust' (almost pornographic in it's monomanically delivered electronic groans). Glutton - another good track...followed by the anthemic 'Bully'.

'Bully' could genuinely be regarded as an anthem for the dissaffected. It's as angry as an industrial rock track can be...(I hate to say it - but everythings been turned up to '11') This really is a classic track - that if John Peel were alive - he'd be championing. It's worth the money just to own this song alone.

The album continues with cyber-clash 'devil in your eyes' - a distorted chopped up vocal snippet layered over more complex electronic arrangements and grungy thrash guitar. Sad suffering takes the album out of gear and the following 'Golden stars' shows off more avant garde intelligent guitar licks. The album fades on a sombre note with 'she's gone' - which almost sounds like it came off another album....strange indeed.

I can't rate this album enough - why oh why this isn't on every serious music loving teens CD shelf is beyond me...I guess in a world of manufactured so called 'emo bands' - the youth audience are brainwashed by corporate music factorys whilst the real stunners of the year go somewhat unnoticed. (This to a degree would stand to reason...the album is released by Some Bizzare records - the only record company of the last 20 years to genuinely champion serious electronic music....see Cabaret Voltaire, Jim Foetus and Coil, Einsturzende Neubauten, etc)

If you have a taste for the mind-blowingly agressive....buy this album. Dark, digital, cyber warfare at it's most confrontational.

If you're craving dirty intellectual expressionism infused with a dark euphoria then Mainstream Distortion offer it in abundance. Through passionate, industrial, techno-rock Mainstream Distortion seem to be producing something new and original in an age where repetitive emo seems to be ubiquitous.

For a debut album their sound is as mature as 'NIN on Cider' (according to Alex Chandon - Director of Cradle of Fear). Add a splash of innocent Amen style punk, a slice of gritty KMFDM beats and shaken up with Refused fuelled activism. They take the listener on a journey through angst ridden cyber punk, creating dark landscapes from a poetical blending of lyrical content and powerful compositions.

One may call it industrial, punk, rock, metal, dance - it is however none of these and all of them at the same time. Using an array of samples and beats, unnerving lyrical substance, evocative guitars and atmospheric vocals this band has already made their mark on the music scene. Simply put - they offer us more!

Tracks like 'Glutton' prove MD's lyrical intelligence, 'Golden Stars' establish an avant-garde guitarist, and songs like 'Bully' expose a potential to be commercially successful. But the best tracks for me offer something else, something edgy, something quirky with unconventional twists, such as 'My Beautiful Hate' and 'Devil in Your Eyes'.

As a whole the album initiates a new consciousness into a dark and yet beautiful place, incorporating pain and suffering, love and loss, hate and desire. Such intensity of emotion is further complimented through bitter, sweet melodies and innovative guitar styles that immerse you even deeper in this new and twisted world.

The Devil Wears Prada are a christian screamcore band that are in my opinion set to become one of the major players in the scene,yes,you heard it here first,yes first,there are two album reviews here on this album before me and neither are reviewing this album,they are reviewing a different band,an industrial band or something,weird i must say,so i am the first to review the devil wears prada and i implore you to listen carefully.

The devil wears prada are a band that bring melody a new name,their use of keyboard and synths is crucial,there are the odd trancey moment thrown in which throws variety into the air,the band are very like underoath at times and like underoath they know how to write a catchy song with chorus, that soar like the angels that they sing about.

vocalist,mike hranica throws screams,the odd gutteral death segment into the bands sound and his clean vocals show a vunerability that showcases the bands strengths,no better example is to be found on the excellent track 'modify the pronounciation',the song is nigh on perfect and the band just give their all here as with the other tracks,there are three instrumentals more or less and this album is in fact a reworking of their debut with a few new tracks and there isnt a dull moment throughout,'gauntlet of solitude' opens things up with style and the riffs tear through your spine,''dogs can grow beards all over' is a faster,snappier track that you will sing along too,and special mention must go to the brilliance of 'rosemary had an accident' and 'swords,dragons and diet coke'.The album is 40 minutes exactly long so the word is clearly killer and not filler,i will in fact give this album a corking 4.5 out of 5 to show you all that this is the sound of a band that can make it,whether they can remains to be seen but if you love underoath,haste the day and still remains then you can play your part in helping this band along the way,brilliant.