Kev Rowland Broken Hope first came to prominence in the death metal scene in the Nineties, when they released four albums on Metal Blade. Feeling that they didn’t get enough support from the label they moved on and released a final album in 1999 before calling it a day a few years later. Over the years a reunion was mooted, but then in 2010 singer Joe Ptacek took his own life. Prior to this he had been having discussions with founder Jeremy Wagner (rhythm guitar) and bassist Shaun Glass about finally getting the band back together, and the guys decided that maybe it was time to just that. Of course they now needed a new singer, so in stepped Damian Leski (Gorgasm) while also recruited were Mike Miczek (drums) and Chuck Wepfer (lead guitar).

So what we have now is a group that is 25 years in the making, and consequently playing music that sounds as if it comes straight from the Eighties. Fans of classic Cannibal Corpse may get a kick out of this, but for all it’s promise it just doesn’t do it for me. Damian has an incredible singing style, but the music is just too clean and not brutal or technical enough to really set them apart. It is not a bad album, far from it in fact, but it is not a great one either. I am sure that there will be many old fans of the band who will be pleased to see that some of them are back together and operating under the name again, but whether this is enough to see them gain any ones I have my doubts. But, with the support of Century Media behind them maybe their tie has finally come – it’s just that on the sole basis of this, I doubt it.