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ISLANDER
Pains EP
Victory Records

From one of my favorite records labels comes a recently signed new act.

Victory Records is at the top of my list for one very good reason. This label likes variety and you will find everything from alterative rock to classic metal to hardcore and evens bands that cant be put into a label, ie THE BUNNY THE BEAR.

However, this review is for the freshly signed ISLANDER with their EP release Pains.

The first song, "New Colors", opens up with machine gun-like drumming and super heavy guitars and after bombarding us with in your face vocals, opens up to a sweet melody and chorus. I like this song a lot and I can see major potential in this band. It’s rare that you get that vibe from the first song but I am an optimistic type guy.

The second song on the disc is "Lucky Rabbit" and it features H.R. of BAD BRAINS making a guest appearance on it. This is a great song, however I didn’t care for the intro as it had a effect that I thought my speakers were broken at first. The guitars really shine through on this song. The bass in the bridge will remind you of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE.

Coming up next is Glass", which is a very rock radio friendly song. I can see this band playing on Warped Tour in the near future. This is my favorite song on the record so far, the perfect combination of metal, rock and modern music with a soul.

The last song on this EP is "Big Shot", which really is a vehicle to highlight the musical ability of this band. To quote Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D: "New school band with old school soul and passion". This is like opening a fresh cold soda on a really hot day, refreshing.

I look forward to seeing a lot more of these guys in the future.

****3/4 Out Of 5

ISLANDER consists of:
Mikey Carvajal (vocalist)
Eric Frazier (drums)
Andrew Murphy (guitarist)
Chris Doot (bassist)

To keep up with all things ISLANDER, check out their official page on the Victory Records website at http://www.victoryrecords.com/islander