All Over The UK - Force & Styles

Advantages: Strong, solid music, well produced, memorable tracks
Disadvantages: A bit too commercialised?

...Within Temptation are, as I'm sure many of you are aware, a Dutch gothic rock group fronted by a female vocalist, Sharon den Adel, and they follow a similar style to other bands of the same genre such as Nightwish, After Forever and Lacuna Coil, but with a mix of power ballads and piano-led softer songs WT have set out a style all their own. The Silent Force follows on from their previous success, "Mother Earth", and instantly has a recognisable difference in both the general theme of the album and the style; whereas "Mother Earth" was more about nature and the world in which we live, "The Silent Force" has a lot more songs about love, desire, betrayal.....a more typical approach you could say. This album is also noticably more orchestral than before which in my opinion adds a sense of 'epic' to their music, and perhaps a touch... Read review

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Advantages: Tight tight tight lyrics, great album
Disadvantages: Not abundantly available

...For those that don't know Jehst is the cream of the UK hip-hop crop, champion of a scene that is rapidly maturing into a force to be reckoned with on the global hip-hop stage. Jehst's appeal is his simply amazing lyrics - any fan of underground hip-hop (Artifacts, Heiorglyphics, Early Wu-Tang, you know the score) will be bowled over by this guy, while his honesty, insight annd edge mean thaat fans of more mainstream material (Jay-Z, Nas, BIG, Pac etc etc) willl also be feeling him. Generally this is a darker and edgier album than his classic debut 'Return Of The Drifter', with Jehst on a more thought-provoking tip on many tracks - check out the incredible 'ESP' for a mind-blowing account of a man in love with a woman he hates, and the title track 'Falling Down' for a brilliant introspective account of the hopes and fears of the twenty... Read review

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Advantages: High level of summery fun and intensity
Disadvantages: Some tracks seem almost overlooked

...Orson are an American band formed in 1999. They went through a couple of name changes before naming themselves 'Orson' after a sandwich, which is in turn named after Orson Welles. They are a no-holds-barred band who are not afraid of their own beliefs when it comes to music. Their style is rock, but in a poppy kind of format, which means that their music appeals to a wider audience once it hits the commercial scene, whilst still remaining in critical acclaim territory. 'Bright Idea' is Orson's first album, released in 2006. It contains many wonderful tracks and is full of intensity and fun - it is one of those albums you feel they had a lot of fun making. There are 11 tracks on the album, and the hits include 'Bright Idea', 'No Tomorrow' and 'Happiness'. These are the tracks: 1. Bright Idea 2. No Tomorrow 3. Happiness 4. Already Over... Read review

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