HighSMany may have caught the hype in April when these American chaps rocked the European shores. For us in the UK we got London and Newcastle, for me personally, I caught them in Germany. Live they are pretty amazing, on record they are just as good. This was originally a self-released digital only EP of demos recorded between August last year and January this year, with the exception of the track ‘Full Power’ of course which appeared on their 2011 opus ‘Another Night’. This is now also available on 12 inch vinyl from High Roller Records.

Simplicity and melody are key factors in this band’s music, whilst all writing credits appear to come from vocalist Chris Black, I cannot help thinking that this is a real group effort. Although I must admit I thought a couple of these tracks were a little tame by earlier materials standards, especially ‘If I’m Gone’, I thought the guitar strumming made this sound like an indie/Killers tune (someone has slapped me across the chops for this comment already)! But still, the rest of this EP rocks. Traditional metal and in particular High Spirits and other bands from the US and Canada are really making a name for themselves in Europe, which is an amazing and welcomed feat and it is something I can only hope will continue. If you think I am talking bullshit them take a listen to ‘One Last Chance’…you should feel something at least and then move onto the outstanding and most vibrant track ‘When the Lights Go Down’ which sounds amazing live more than it does on this record. Remember, these are demo recordings, so that doesn’t mean you get the best sound quality out of this material, but you do get the basics and that’s really what counts with influences akin to Züül (High Spirits live bassist is in that band by coincidence too), early NWOBHM and simply damn good metal bands.

Melody, energy, head banging, these are all essentials of the white denim wearing High Spirits. Their music a simply great, for want of a better word, it’s happy. I certainly never fail to sing along to some great vocals and some magical riffs and arrangements every time I spin any tune of this band, whether this EP or their earlier releases. Believe the hype, this band are great, they will last longer than most because they have genuine talent and hopefully genuine fans backing them all the way.

(8/10 Paul Maddison)