Aereogramme, Various - Louder Than The Crowd

41 tracks of underground UK rock/metal. You can't go wrong with that, especially considering the calibre of some of the bands included. Unfortunatly the tracks I owned where among the best this album has to offer. The collection of music includes many types of rock (emo, ska, punk, hardcore, post-hardcore, metalcore etc.), but all of the tracks have metal underpinnings.

The best tracks come courtesy of the subtle yet deadly Aereogramme, Johnny Truant, Miocene (great 6min+ track which reminds me of Tool and King Crimson all in one), 3StagesOfPain, Beecher, Eden Maine and The Blueprint. All of the bands featured where on indie labels when this album was compiled however a few have now moved onto majors, e.g Funeral For A Friend who provide the great track '10.45 Amsterdam Conversations', just charted at no.19 in the UKTOP40 with another track from their new major label album.

Personally even though I can just about put up with the inclusion of bands like Farse, the inclusion of Skindred (Rasta-metal?), Capdown, Jarcrew, (Spunge) and Number One Son (nu-metal) do nothing but hinder this otherwise good compilation.

This compilation does also have a few bands missing, where are Welsh deathsters Desecration, where's Mclusky, where's Irish metalcore band Sinocence, Where's Send More Paramedics. Infact alot of bands are missing and the more intense metal genres of grind and death metal have been completly ignored. This compilation showcases Britains finest, but if you imagine a North American version, it will be a hundred times better. Just imagine bands from labels like Ferret (Everytime I Die, Nora), Hydrahead (ISIS, Botch), Revelation (Since By Man), Equal Vison (Time In Malta, Converge), Relapse (Uphill Battle, Mastodon and so many other amazing bands I don't have space) etc., they will wipe the floor with the UK, unfortuantly. Notice I left out Metal Blade and Earache which just shows the abundance of talent in the U.S

Anyway, if you like loud underground rock or if you are progressing from the commercial rock (a step up from Now55 and at half the price!), this is the way to go. If you are into harder and more underground metal then you should opt instead for Contaminated 5.0, a label sampler from US label Relapse that also features over 40 tracks for a bargain price). The booklet for 'Louder Than The Crowd' includes a 2page introduction talking about the UK rock scene and asks each band to put foward their favourite uk rock album. The most popular by a long way being Iron Maidens 'Number Of The Beast', there are also a good few votes for the brilliant earthtone9.

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