I am, admittedly, slightly behind the times when it comes to Chickenhawk. If I hadn't seen them last month supporting Alexisonfire then I wouldn't have been blown away by them live, sent desperate emails to PR companies the next day or, indeed, have written the very review that you now find yourself reading. But I did, so you are.

Formed in 2005 and initially a three-piece, Chickenhawk shifted drummer Paul Astick to frontman and recruited Matt Reid as his skin-bashing replacement. Completed by bassist Ryan Clark and guitarist Rob Stephens, the band released their self-titled debut album - limited to just 500 copies - in 2008 and followed it up a year later with the 'A. Or Not?' EP and the recording of a new track, 'Scorpieau', for inclusion on a compilation album. New album 'Modern Bodies' features songs from right across this back catalogue, with some hefty vocal and guitar reworkings having taken place and the whole thing being mixed by Kevin Vanbergen (80's Matchbox B-Line Disaster, The Pixies, Gallows) and mastered by Dick Beetham.

It is 'Scorpieau' that opens 'Modern Bodies', and what a song it is. Reminiscent of 'The Great Northern Whalekill' era Minus in its guitar delivery, this opening song is a great introduction to the band for listeners jumping on at this point. 'NASA vs ESA' follows and is tooth looseningly heavy. Plastered with off kilter wordage that pretty much sums up the band lyrically, this song offers the first real glimpse of why the band have been, in certain quarters, slapped with a dodgy 'progcore' label. I, personally, hate this kind of fashionable genre-shoving but felt that I had to mention it lest I be forever considered terminally un-hip!

The prog part of that labelling comes from the technical aspect of Chickenhawk's sound. Sure, there are sounds and time changes crashing out of my speakers that will conjure up the dreaded P-word for some but this shit is more crazed than progressive. The opening of 'The Pin', for example, is a fucked up piece of sci-fi hi-fi that suddenly erupts into heaving rock majesty. Y'know what, this shit probably is progressive but as I never listen to that ginger stepchild of a genre or would readily admit to it, I think I'll stick to my guns and say that Chickenhawk are genre-defying. Yeah, that'll do it.

'I Hate This, Do You Like It?', home to a great zombie-themed music video, is swiftly followed by 'My Name Is Egg' and these two musical high-points give real weight to the album's middle section, with some of the riffs on the latter being of a devastating quality. 'Kerosene' is a great track too and not far behind this pair in the superiority stakes.

'Modern Bodies' is an intelligent, migraine-inducing record that is as heavy as it is impressive - clue : it's really heavy! With these eleven songs (twelve if you get the iTunes exclusive track) Chickenhawk have shown us a glimpse of a future that survives on a diet of massive guitars and eclectic arrangements. The only downside to this album is that long-term fans of the band get nothing but reworked versions of songs that they already own. If these fans can keep patient then I'm sure that the album that Chickenhawk record to follow up this great debut proper will reward their faith. For potential new fans, this album will reduce you to a meaty pulp.

www.myspace.com/chickenhawk