For the last couple of years, the UK has most certainly been at the forefront of innovation when it comes to heavy music.

Bands like Frontierer, Svalbard and Rolo Tomassi just to name a few have been ones proudly flying the heavy flag for this country.

So to make sure the cobwebs are most certainly dusted off for 2019, there needed to be something that was a kick to the gut.

Enter Ithaca.

The band’s debut album The Language of Injury brings together a blend of riffs, impassioned vocals and of course a whole heap of aggression.

Opening track ‘New Covenant‘ is a statement of intent, letting the listener know what kind of experience they’re in for.

The drum intro teamed with the feedback guitars gives the impression that Ithaca are about to go to war, and that is exactly what this album is all about. A war against social norms and tackling them head on.

If the high-pitch shrieks from the guitars weren’t abrasive enough, and keeping you guessing what is going to come next, then the gut-wrenching vocals go from spiting in your face ferocious to beautiful and delicate at the flick of a switch.

Even though on the surface Ithaca produce fast aggressive music, this album has been carefully crafted to let every element shine. From some of incredibly technical guitar riffs to the onslaught of drums, this is not an album dominated by one thing.

A great example of this is in the mind boggling, yet super catchy, breakdown in ‘Youth vs Wisdom’ where the tone of the guitars slows right down just allowing for the chug and drums to ring out.

While tracks like ‘The Language of Injury’ and ‘Better Abuse’ may become songs of not that fans gravitate towards, for this listener the song ‘Gilt’ is a sleeper hit. It really allows the band to explore everything they want to and gives every aspect of the song an opportunity to breathe.

It would be easy to say that The Language Of Injury is another notch in the increasingly impressive roster of Holy Roar Records, but take labels out of the equation and this is just a solid heavy record which deserves everyone’s attention.

7/10