THE ROCK'n'ROLL CIRCUS RADIO SHOW

Beast Inside Album Review

Control The Storm are a 6 piece female fronted melodic metal band from Bristol, England, UK. Control The Storm, was formed in 2010 by Rich Shillitoe (Guitar), Raedon Mac (Keyboards), Daryl Barrett-Cross (Guitar) and Gareth Arlett (Drums), from the ashes of a previous band and the line up was finally completed when Hayley Martin (Vocals) and Becky Baldwin (Bass), were welcomed into the fold. Further into 2010, the band released their debut EP which was extremely well received and helped them to forge a fan base. Due to other musical commitments, Daryl, sadly left the band in 2012 and after performing as a 5 piece band for a short period, Patrick Sanders was brought in after a lengthy auditioning process to play 2nd guitar. Things then really began to take off, as the band were awarded a coveted slot at Bloodstock in 2012, on the festivals "New Blood Stage", after winning Reading's "Metal To The Masses Competition". Forward to 2014 and the line up once again changes as vocalist, Hayley Martin and drummer, Gareth Arlett step down from the band. A new chapter begins as Nath Hutchins takes over the drums and Kate Norris becomes Control The Storm's new voice to bring us the current line up and their debut album "Beast Inside", along with a tour of the UK and Europe in the spring of 2015. "Beast Inside", was recorded and produced in Swindon, England, UK, over 5 months at the home of Raedon Mac, where the band gave every spare minute they had to prepare the tracks for mixing and mastering before passing the task over to the extremely talented, Chuck Creese of CC Productions, Bristol, England, UK. "Beast Inside" is due for release 2nd March 2015 and is on pre sale now at Amazon, iTunes and CDBaby.com plus signed copies can be purchased at, www.controlthestorm.bigcartel.com The band promise to bring unforgettable melodies, an astounding double assault of dual guitars, atmospheric keys and the hard hitting rhythm section that modern metalheads crave so, let's fire this up and see what this storm brings!.

Day Of Days - This comes flying at you with a thundering onslaught of drums and grinding guitars with a distinctive bounce to the rhythm. This is fast and instantly addictive. The soft vocals from Kate are accompanied by hard male growls to add intensity and tone in places. The guitar medley at the bridge is accompanied by beautiful harmonic vocals from Kate and the atmospheric piano just takes you away with the guitar. This is pure melodic metal at its best!.

Hysteric Silence - This one comes swaggering at you with defiant snare drum beats and keyboards before unleashing its potent mix of rolling drums and chugging guitars. The soft reflective vocals narrate the determination, accompanied by growling vocals once again to add depth. The keyboard hook in the background really catches the senses and the bass tone throughout is perfection as it rumbles alongside the drums and double kick pedal to add potency to the rhythm section. This is another addictive track that has a wicked edge to it and thunders along like a runaway freight train to get any metal head moshing.

Believe - A beautiful, reflective guitar wails and wanes as its accompanied by atmospheric keyboards before the drums roll in and fire up the bass hooks and duel guitars. The intensity then seriously increases as the tempo changes into a fast paced firestorm of relentless drum beats, angry bass slaps and attitude driven guitar grinds. The inspiring and defiant lyrics seriously adding fire to this rolling maelstrom of metal as it rises into its war cry.

No Chance At All - This track is so powerful and atmospheric as the piano and keyboard strings lead us into heartfelt guitar wails, rolling cymbals and kick pedal. A bounce emerges in the tempo and the bass really stamps its authority as the piano tinkles in the background. This has bitterness and pain written all over it with a serious anger in its attitude.

Falling - This is a beautiful ballad of loss, torment and remembrance. Gentle guitars and piano add a serenity in the background as the bass and drums roll slowly alongside the soft vocals. The track rising to a crescendo letting the stunningly beautiful guitars carry you away. This is purely magical and so powerful.

Nothing Hurts - This is a hard and heavy track that comes galloping at you with its ferocious double kick pedal, grinding dual guitars and intense keyboards. This has a hard, heavy defiance and seriously fires up your inner metal God to ignite any mosh pit.

Stronger - This is one of those awesome melodic metal tracks where you can just close your eyes and lose yourself. With a glorious piano intro, the bass and guitar add weight before an inspiring guitar hook carries the stunning vocals and introduces the drums. The guitars and drums really fire up at the bridge with an aggression as the intensity of the track increases. The vocals also increasing in pitch to further empower the track.

False Eternity - This is a cracking melodic track that thunders along as the lyrics narrate torment, angst and scorn. The rolling drums introduce some glorious keyboards as the tempo takes off into galloping guitars and defiant vocals. This is such an addictive track and the wailing guitar solo is sublime with the galloping double kick pedal of the drums at the bridge. The keyboards really stand out in this track and the chorus should get everyone joining in and fist pumping.

Twisted Truth - Atmospheric piano and strings lead us in as the drums and bass start the galloping tempo. The guitars in this track are absolutely stunning and there's some serious fretwork skills on show. This track waxes and wanes between soft vocals and piano to thundering drums and glorious guitaring that will seriously blow you away. One of those tracks where you can just sit back and lose yourself and has some serious replay value. Its sublime in every sense and you just can't get enough of it!.

Beast Inside - A phasing guitar riff unleashes the drums and bass as the tempo and lyrics turn into a swagger driven defiance. This is antagonistic in tone and the heavy guitars chug away with serious authority. The guitar medley at the bridge adds some colossal energy to the ferocious drum work while the keyboards inject even more atmosphere before bringing this album to a close.

Control The Storm have seriously impressed me with this debut album, "Beast Inside". From the songwriting, to the instrument playing and production, everything screams perfection here. The dual guitars working in harmony really bring new weight and clarity to the sound and some of the fretwork is truly inspiring. The slap and pop of the bass is sublime and its good to hear it's potency in the majority of the tracks here. The keyboards add so much atmosphere to this album and really empower the tracks, from the ballads to the full on melodic maelstrom's that'll knock you sideways. The drums really drive this album with some exceptional double kick pedal work that will ignite any metalhead into a frenzy and lastly the vocals. It makes such a refreshing change to hear a melodic metal album that doesn't have operatic or choral tones to the vocals, but soft female vocals that just carry you along as you enjoy the heaviness of the music. This is melodic metal at its best!. For such a young band to emerge and produce a debut album of this quality just makes me hungry for more!. For those that like Delain, Lacuna Coil, Nightwish and Amaranthe or just melodic metal in general, seriously check out Control The Storm and their debut album, Beast Inside. They promised unforgettable melodies, an astounding double assault of dual guitars, atmospheric keys and the hard hitting rhythm section that modern metalheads crave and they certainly bring that to the table!.