Danish rockers Bloody Dice have got a lot to get off their collective chests about the state of the World. You can tell this because almost every song on their new album, 2, follows the same path lyrically, with the end result being akin to the man of legend using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Don’t get me wrong – I agree with every word uttered in the the ten tunes of freedom that make up 2, but when the vocals are pushed up so high in the mix that you can’t fail to get beaten over the head repeatedly by the message, it is a bit like attending a service from one of those Fire n’Brimstone ministers from the old Deep South…

Still, there’s always the music, and a lot of that is very good indeed. The two best tracks here, Unspoken and Don’t Know Where We’re Going, are utterly spellbinding, with the latter in particular really busting out and putting all the band’s talents on show.

Opening track Cry For War isn’t bad either, featuring as it does the first of a series of very good, melodically assured solos from Nickie Jensen, and it’s only the slightly meandering blues workout of Break The Cycle that arrests the momentum the band work hard to build up elsewhere. Even here, though, Larsen’s soloing causes sparks to fly, so all is not lost.

Producer extraordinaire Flemming Rasmussen – last seen around these parts twiddling knobs for UK metallers Neuronspoiler to tremendous effect – has given the band a beautiful sheen to their sound, allowing the grumbling bass of Jakob Haugaard enough space to shine in the gaps between Jensen’s guitar and the simple, power-packed drumming of Peter Larsen, whilst his handling of Dagfinn Joensen‘s vocals gives the singer’s voice enough punch to ram home the band’s message, again and again…

Good stuff, then, overall, and certainly worth a punt if you enjoy stripped-back heavy rock with it’s heart on it’s sleeve and a tune on it’s lips…

2 releases on June 27th.