The last time I came across Hungary's Ektomorf was when I heard their 2005 opus 'Instinct' and I've got to be honest, they ripped off Sepultura/Soulfly so badly it was difficult to treat them seriously.  So has the past five years done anything to change matters?  Well yes and no.  No in the respect that they still have more than a passing influence of a certain Max Cavalera, yes in that it isn't the be all and end all of their music anymore as they've also introduced some Hardcore influences a la Heaven Shall Burn and they've also got a decent bit of groove to their sound in places.  Also, despite the sometimes-flagrant lack of originality they have made a very enjoyable album.

Songs like 'Last Fight' and the title track mix chest-crushing heaviness with a splash of Korn and Slipknot thrown in for good measure.  Downtuned, open stringed chugging and plenty of pinch harmonics are the order of the day and you can hear why this lot get on so many European festival bills as this stuff is built for circle pits in the baking sunshine.  They also must be doing something right in the eyes of their peers as well, as on standout track 'The One' they even manage to rope in the services of Danko Jones.

So ultimately this album's lack of originality is hardly going to elevate them to a much higher level but they do what they do pretty damn well, so if they already blow your skirt up they're not going to disappoint you and if you do stumble across it you'll certainly find plenty to blow your socks off, just don't give it too much thought.

www.myspace.com/ektomorf