Woohoo! Wellington rockers This Silent Divide show us their continued versatility and ear for a great fusion of rock genres with monster new single In This World. What’s more, they’re playing some shows where you’re going to get to see them play it and their other weapons grade numbers in the merry month of March – Hamilton’s Last Place on Friday 8th, and Auckland’s famed Ding Dong Lounge on Saturday 9th… and then in the glorious capital at none other than the Welsh Dragon Bar, my old haunt, on Friday 22nd as support to fellow Welly rockers Seismic State, who are launching their own single that day! I will implore everyone I know to go catch these guys, because they deliver a massive sound, so the live show will blow the roof off each of these venues. The three date tour is to launch this very track to the live circuit.

In This World grabs you straight away with it’s snarly, almost embittered power chord-influenced intro riff. It feels punky when the rhythm section kicks in, bringing a counter-point composition that works well to make the track even angrier. It’s the deep, precisely executed performance I have learned to expect from this band, and I get a kick out of its off-centre and dystopian sound. Quite deliberately nasty – and putting me in mind of early Shihad or Weta, both of course Wellington bands themselves.

When the vocals kick in I felt an affinity with early Opshop. The melody has a commercial edge to it, made great by that almost rancid snarl of a mix backing it. Punky as all hell. If you’ve read many of my reviews you’ll know how much I like that. Great band performance all round, and absolutely blasting out Kiwi rock/punk as it was meant to be heard. Tiny Triumph Recordings‘ Toby Lloyd has done a sterling job with the engineering, twiddling those knobs to create yet another beast from what is rapidly becoming one of the capital’s premium workhorse bands. Toby performed his sorcery at Surgery Studios in Welly, before the track was sent across to Robin Schmidt in Germany for mastering. Capturing the attitude and power of a band is a craft that needs to be saluted when it’s done as well as these gents have done here. Yes it’s their job, but there’s something in the art of capturing the essence of a bands soul in a file. It’s very special and often isn’t achieved.

We get a great surprise with a middle eight that’s a tempo and form change, as well as chords and melody. It totally works, and sends me down a Foo Fighters/Green Day memory spiral. I know I keep mentioning all these other bands, but this is just to give something to correlate what I am describing to you with. This is pure and unfettered This Silent Divide. They grab you, draw you in, then blast their raw energy through your every fibre. You gotta love ’em!

No vid for me to review with this, but that’s okay, because the single is released on – get this – Wales national day, 1st March, Saint David’s Day. I’m Welsh. They’re culminating the single’s launch tour in the Welsh Dragon Bar. What is going on here? Do I switch the review to Welsh? Croeso bechgyn a merched. Rwyn di garu du! x

Nah, back to English I guess. This should get air on RadioActive, 99bFM, RDU etc, as well as Hauraki and The Rock. There are countless global metal, rock, punk and indie stations that will pick this up, so get amongst it management, and get your chaps distributed. It’s going to be a live favourite, especially the crowd-focused ending (you’ll know what I mean when you hear it).

Yeah, they’ve done it again. Absolute belter of a track, destined to peel your skin back from your face if you get too close to those Marshalls. Ooo f*ckin’ rah!