Hundred Reasons - 'Kill Your Own' (V2) Released 20/03/06

This reviewer distinctly remembers seeing Hundred Reasons at a Radio 1 Roadshow in Falkirk about four years ago. On a varied bill they played with Blue, Sophie Elis Bextor and the mighty Toploader. At the time Hundred Reasons were riding a wave of up and coming young British bands in the post
hardcore/ metal genre such as Lostprophets and Hell Is For Heroes. Their debut album 'Ideas Above Our Station' was an underground success producing numerous singles. They took to the stage and Sideshow Bob look-alike singer Colin Doran was bounding about, whacking out anthem after anthem.

They delighted the small group of Goths down the front and bewildered the parents of the girls who had come to see Blue. At one point Colin threw his mic up in the air and attempted to catch it, burst into the chorus and wowed everybody. Unluckily though he threw it up, missed it and it hit him directly on the head. In the short term it provided us all with a big laugh but the long term affects seem much more serious.

Second album 'Shatterproof Is Not a Challenge' not only proved they release appallingly titled albums, but also that their debut success was not to carry on. The album sold very few copies and led to them being dropped by their label. Whether this was due to the effects of the microphone incident remains to be seen, but things have gone downhill since then. The band have found a new home at V2, home to The Rakes and Elbow, and are releasing their third album 'Kill Your Own'. Really its make or break time for the band. If 'Kill Your Own' follows their second album down the toilet then the band are in big trouble.

Its worrying then that opening track 'Broken Hands' recycles the riff from debut album track 'If I Could'. The track follows the post hardcore textbook with quiet verses, shouty choruses and anthemic vocals. Next track, and first single to be released from the album, 'Kill Your Own' is not just terrible advice to mothers, but also an electro tinged rock monster. For the first time in ages the band sound as exciting as they did all those years ago. The chorus is infectious, the riffs gigantic and the keyboard whirrs underneath to create a brilliant pummel driver of a track.

Much of the album follows on from there. Raucous, angry, focused and fast. It’s certainly a statement from the band that they are here to stay. The only question really is are they relevant any more? The world has moved on from 2001. The kids that bought 'Ideas Above Our Station' have grown up and  the fickle metal market now prefer make up and multi coloured tattoos. Blokes with big hair called Colin are no match for Gerard Way and his Chemical Romance. It’s a transitional period for Hundred Reasons and this album might just not be good enough for them.