Batten down the hatches. Things are about to get stormy. Real stormy. Prepare yourself for an aural assault. Black Mountain are back. And they want you. They want you feel the force of their music, their enormous force of music. Music that will swallow you up and spit you out. If you purchased their eponymous debut album, then this album is sure to please. It's a little more of the same, with an extra punch thrown in. If you like your music more on the softer side of life, then best steer clear.

The opening track "Stormy High" gets things going with the band's trademark crunching guitar sound. A swirling mass of a song, it packs a rhythmic punch, with Stephen McBean's woozy vocals front and centre. "Angels" continues in roughly the same vein with its almost blues like riffing, plus the angelic voice of Amber Webber joins the show. Then the sledgehammer hits. "Tyrants", eight minutes of a song impersonating a hurricane. It's an aural assault for a minute, before slowing to a stop, then slowly building as McBean and Webber trade vocals, before moving to an epic climax. The drumming on this song is enormous. The rest of the album doesn't contain too many surprises, but what Black Mountain do, they do very well. That is, big guitar chords, woozy melodies, an almost psychedelic atmosphere and outstanding vocals. "Stay Free" is however a quiet interlude, its acoustic strumming backing some delicious high pitched vocals, whilst "Queens Will Play" lets Amber Webber show off her weapon of a voice. Then nothing will prepare you for the sixteen minute epic that is "Bright Lights". A song of sonic force, it features ferocious guitar riffing and is sure to knock you off your feat. "In The Future" is a most impressive piece of music. There are sure to be more inventive albums this year and definitely ones that will back a bigger emotional punch. But I highly doubt that there will be one that rocks any harder then this one.

MP3: Tyrants-Black Mountain