respectively, their sound has developed into something altogether more primal and driving.

The product of this new incarnation is their new EP, Row Away From The Rocks, with cover artwork once more generously supplied by Ralph Steadman – veteran illustrator, and friend to the great gonzo journalist himself, Hunter S Thompson.

The EP kicks off in ferocious style with their new single, ‘Good Day to Die’; a song which showcases the breadth of their musical ability well, moving between fast-paced upbeat metal and moments of melodic lyrical reflection before closing with the chanted refrain: “This is a good day to die” – an echo of Sitting Bull’s prophetic final war cry and a rallying call to those who wish to see them playing at this summers’ music festivals.

Second on the EP is ‘Waiting for the World to Change’. The contrast between this song and the opening number could not be more stark. Ben’s vocals take on a more beseeching tone, with a soaring melody that leads into the thunderous guitar assault, courtesy of axmen Jimmy and Ali. Once again there is an anthemic epic quality to the music which sustains the pace of Row Away... after its initially brutal start.
 
Next up, ‘On Your Sleeve’, steadily builds from a gentle, almost dreamlike, keyboard section to a point where the rest of the music crashes in with a heavily punctuated, rhythmic beat. Drivingly forceful and vehement lyrics speak of striving to reach your potential and achieve your dreams – a potent insight into the desire that all the Mishkin boys have of bringing their own style of drunken musical craziness to rest of the world.

To close out the EP, Mishkin have picked by far the heaviest song in their new repertoire, ‘Violation’. Bradie starts it off with an utterly ferocious double-kick section before Ben comes screaming in with vocals that echo the grunt of the guitars – punchy and guttural. With actively aggressive lyrics, that allow Jimmy to indulge some of his death metal leanings, the song carries on in this vein to the end, pitching and changing between various sections and highlighting an enviable effortlessness within their song-writing ability.

Mishkin have worked long and hard to get to the position they currently occupy in the hearts of their many fans and Row Away from the Rocks is another step in their quest towards world domination. Already this year has seen them picked up by PR company Hold Tight and their fan-base storm the charts of the ‘Red Bull Bedroom Jam’ competition. This year belongs to Mishkin and if you don’t believe that then I’d suspect that, for you, this would be a “good day to die”.

Andy Duckworth

<script type="text/javascript">

  var _gaq = _gaq || [];
  _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-17252604-1']);
  _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

  (function() {
  var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
  ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
  var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
  })();

</script>