Like the bastard sons and bitchin' daughter of the much missed Tokyo Dragons, London based wreckin' machines Meansteed are a band built on the foundations alcoholic excess and high voltage rock 'n' roll overloads. They have more on stage energy than Ian Curtis during one of his fits and their rough edged riffs smoke like Jim Morrison's spliffs. Their previous EP 'Engage The Rage' was, as the title suggests, littered with tunes raging with an incendiary like quality and with this brand new EP it's as if they've picked up that smokin' baton of groove laden carnage and fanned the embers into a even hotter more ferocious fire. This fresh new release contains four more tracks of tempestuous burning rock 'n' roll full of charged riffs that are packed with enough AC/DC TNT to blow a hole the size of Australia out of Planet Rock.

'Idiot Without A Cause' picks up where the 'Engage The Rage' EP left off and the production is easily the first noticeable difference. The sound is incredibly deep, the guitar tones from Matt Dorkings and Alison Curry are smooth but savage, fully rounded yet there's piranha teeth just inches from the surface, energetic and relentless. Dorkings' voice is as rugged as a splintered baseball bat and just as deadly, spitting lyrics with a dirty snarl one second then roaring like a lion with tourettes the next. Quite how someone of Matt's age has got a voice so "aged" (I mean that in a good way) is a mystery to me. Part Angry Anderson part Bon Scott I can only assume that he spent a large proportion of his childhood licking woodchip wallpaper and chewing on broom handles.

The title track itself rages with a menacing groove as Matt sprawls his rough, whiskey soaked tones over an underlying bluesy foundation that continually pulses to the max. You can almost feel the heat as the slow fuse smoulders towards the inevitable end. A musical storm, captivating, enthralling, hell, just plain addictive. 'Cabin Fever' is sure to send temperatures rising during the live set, a set they usually play while emitting more alcoholic fumes than Gary Moore's body bag so stand well back as drummer Adam Sutcliffe could very well spontaneously combust Spinal Tap-style at any point. 'Ten Ton Tantrum' yields another swaggering groove literally growling at the seams and rumbling as if the San Andreas fault itself was running through the rhythm section of Sutcliffe and bassist Pablo Gomez. Here again the absolutely pounding production pushes the Steeds dirty denim clad balls (metaphorical for Miss Curry of course) hard into your face with all the subtlety and romance of a grubby trucker.

Finally 'Weekend Warrior' is last out of the traps but crosses the line in a dead heat with the other tracks due to a breakneck pace and break your face delivery. Matt and Alison proving that guitar heroes are definitely not just things of the past as they fire off round after round of dirty six string devastation. Meansteed are a band blessed with both technical grace and unfaltering fury and with this new batch of tunes and the much improved production 'Cabin Fever' will stand them in good stead when it comes to turning heads in their direction. Live their music explodes in your face like a confetti bomb laced with tequila worms and a nice sized slab of that delivery has been captured here on these four cracking tracks. Brash, furious and instantly addictive 'Cabin Fever' is a fine example of exuberant metal for a new generation of old schoolers. 

http://www.meansteed.com/