I'm a hopless romantic.  I've spent my adult life with one eye cocked,  waiting patiently for a glimpse of that one special someone.

In the meantime,  I intend to fuck anything that has a decent rack and stands in front of me too long.  Of course,  I also intend to do it really goddamned well.

 This,  in a nutshell,  is Twytch.  A band desperately searching for a soul,  stumbling aimlessly across genre and approaches,  merrily kicking ass wherever they roam.  Upon hearing thier first recorded effort,  I was struck by an enthusiastic,  simple minded band that never really caught my fancy.  When the first singles off Hatred were released,  (Return to Ashes,  and Hatred) I was caught off guard.  Here was the same band playing a completely opposite role.  The formerly hacking riffs had been compressed into ultra crunchy burst of tight,  melodic,  arpeggiations.  Tasteful Drum trickery,  varied screams,  emotive vocals,  and harmonies filled the tracks.  I was excited when I got my copy of Hatred,  wanting to hear more of these new recordings.

 After listening to the two singles I was already familiar with,  the rest of the album was a bit of a surprise.  Every song on this album,  including Hatred and Return to Ashes,  traverses across more genre,  influence,  attitude,  and atmosphere than you'll find carried at your local record store.  Thrash,  Black Metal,  Hardcore,  Metalcore,  or whatever retarded sub genre you refer to your favorite band as,  chances are someone in Twytch is loving and learning from it.  Songs like Enemy and Echo reek of late nights,  long drinks,  and Pantera albums,  while Return to Ashes and Swallow the Stitches bring to mind more melodic fare,  In Flames,  Arch Enemy,  or maybe Lamb of God. 

 My only remorse is that while Twytch have obviously been dipping into an immense bag of influences,  they've yet to pool all these great elements into a unique,  solid mold.  Styles are scattered about within the framework of each song,  which leaves some of the material ass kicking yet unmemorable.  However,  with the first two tracks,  the band shows examples of two incredibly well crafted songs.

 It's only a matter of time before this bands wild and debaucherous exploits through the landscape of genres finds them stumbling across that perfect blend that is thier one and only love.  With examples like Hatred and Return to Ashes,  as well as some serious moments of glory throughout the remaining tracks,  they're geared up to release a bludgeoning assault of metal mastery in years to come.

RATING: 3 stars

or

First,  Second,  and Third base,  but no anal or polaroid pictures.