Saints of Eden- Shameless

ARTIST: Saints of Eden

ALBUM: Shameless EP

LABEL: Metech Recordings

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 7-4-07

England's Saints of Eden describe themselves as "industrial goth metal techno music," which quite frankly sounds like a recipe for disaster. Luckily, though, four great tastes that shouldn't taste good together actually form a savory stew on this four-track EP. Title track "Shameless" recalls the hard-edged funk of The Prodigy without actually sounding like them, combining streetwise raps with more dramatic rock vocals and beefing up the whole mix with orchestra hits and sweeping string samples, while "Ice" is industrial by way of underground jungle, with aggressive vocals growling up from a mish-mash of rolling snares and throbbing kicks. Perhaps the best offering, though, is "The Price Ya Gotta Pay," which deftly adds a heavy metal brutality to hard but dance floor-friendly beats and ends up coming off as a more guitar-oriented version of Stromkern. "So Near" finishes things off with a dark but slick touch of techno-flavored industrial that feels like getting sucker-punched by a candy raver. At under 20 minutes, this is just a teaser of what Saints of Eden are capable of, but the multimedia bonus video should be enough to hold you over while you wait for the full-length to come out. Visit www.saintsofeden.com to download songs and video clips.