Watford's SikTh are mad. No, strike that, they're stark, raving bonkers. But with insantity oft comes genius, and while the latter is too strong a word to use for SikTh at this stage, they're certainly stronger than many.

So what do you get for your craziness? Heavy metal with multiple personalities and attention deficit disorder, that's what. One minute they're playing thrash with riffs the size of sledgehammers and gnarled, canine vocals; the next there's a melodic refrain and a chorus that, while not quite radio-friendly, could certainly be mates with MTV2. And all of this is done to the backdrop of time signatures changing more often than Elizabeth Taylor's husband.

The B-side is a cover of the legendary Iron Maiden number, Wrathchild, perhaps in order to show us that they can play straight metal too. But we're not fooled. As the Maiden once asked, "Can I play with madness?" In SikTh's case, the answer is clearly, "Yes".

SikTh - The Trees Are Dead And Dried Out...

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