Breed 77 - In My Blood

As well being the world's largest natural resource of 'rock' puns, Gibraltar natives Breed 77 have a most intriguing flamenco/metal sound to throw about. Album opener Petroleo (You Will Be King) starts as things mean to go on: a token Spanish guitar passage followed by some radio-friendly metal. A few epic solos are thrown in the mix, a couple of duelling riffs and a whole flurry of power chord distortion. The Hispanic elements to the vocals and guitars give a twist on a sound which is not far from 'City of Evil'-era Avenged Sevenfold but it fails to ever really ignite in a way that would make you reach out for that trusty air-guitar. The right elements are there, the attitude is apparent and the premise of having a Spanish flavour seems original enough, but 'In My Blood' just doesn't do enough to convince that this does anything more than twist metal in the way that Ricky Martin twists bubblegum pop. [Jamie Borthwick]