Being brought into the world as an illegitimate child, can apparently lead to wanting to play loud and heavy music. Which is not a bad thing per se. But it is when you go about it as uninspired as The Bastard Sons.

Sure, it sounds impressive at first. But by the time I had reached song number three, I found it increasingly difficult to tell the songs apart. And by the end of the album, everything had turned into one big blur of pummeling drums, metal clichés, raspy vocals and tired riffs. Most of the songs on here are well-written and flawlessly executed, but this basically sounds like the UK’s answer to Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster. Hopefully they’ll show off a sound that is a bit more their own on their next release.