METAL

Loud, for some reason, has always been equated with stupid (Spinal Tap have a lot to answer for presumably), but as these four fairly well-adjusted young men from Atlanta prove, metal can be both big and very, very clever.

They still indulge in a lyrical bent that borders on the Tolkien-esque, including talk of wolves, birchmen and sleeping giants. But, like the incomprehensibly verbose Mars Volta, this doesn’t take away from the quality of the music, which is complex, varied and textured, relying on time signatures and shifts of weight and dynamics rather than just berating listeners with coruscating riffage. And even when they do indulge it’s with a certain purpose and guile. Tremendous.