Isolation are just about to release their eagerly anticipated debut album 'Lockdown', and it's a monumental CD. The Cheltenham based band have taken their sound to 'Another Level' (aptly enough the title of the first track). With Shane's mammoth riffs over Joe's driving bass lines and Paul's machine gun drumming, topped off with Al's commanding throat-shredding vocals, the album is relentless in its ferocity. Isolation cite bands such as Metallica, Machine Head, Iron Maiden etc as their influences,and although some of the style of these bands can be heard in their music, they fuse them with their own massive sound to stamp their unique identity on the world of metal. They don't go in for any 'lighters-in-the-air' style ballads that so many bands do to add 'interest' to their music. Isolation don't need to - the album starts at full throttle and doesn't let up on any of its ten tracks. With dynamic verses interjected with anthemic choruses, the band have pulled out all the stops on this one to give your ears a pounding from start to finish! If you like your music loud, dirty, and unholy, buy this CD and catch them rampaging live near you - you won't be disappointed. (Neil D) FUSE MAGAZINE


The debut from these UK metalheads shows promise.

A band that have had more than their fair share of difficulties since their inception, Isolation have never given up and are proud to present their debut album now in the form of 'lockdown'. The songs are decent, the performances strong, and aside from a very weak production it's a pretty decent album. What does come across here is that these songs will be absolutely superb live and are designed for getting a crowd going. In that respect the band are doing great things, but they are great things borrowed from endless other bands. Maidenesque singalongs mixed with Killswitch/Pantera style breakdowns do make for a heady mix. Great musicians with a bright future. SUBBA CULTCHA


A decent mix of blended metal, the crunch of modern metalcore stomping on something that reaches back to a chunky brutal punky hard hitting NWOBHM sound and sense. They're from Cheltenham and subtle is obviously not part of their vocabulary. ORGAN

A Cheltenham band with a debut album that is very explosive with rifle-fast drumming, punishing bass and a guitarist who lays down riffs like napalm and solos with the effectiveness of a torpedo hitting it target time after time. It's metal, it's loud, it's hard and it's monstrous in the best way. The only gripe I have is that they're trying just a bit too hard to add a commercial quality, at times, that they really don't need. Although only used sparingly, the backing vocals and harmonies, clearly used to give depth to the strong lead vocals, come across as an afterthought and really aren't that necessary. The group wins completely when they abandon the frills and go for the throat, giving the listener a sound pummelling in the process. The songs themselves are competent rampaging metal, fast hard and loud, not the most memorable things in the world, but delivered with confidence and feeling so that you really do want to come back to it for the adrenaline-rising feeling it gives you deep inside as you headbang your way to oblivion. For a debut album, seriously good, but you can bet the best is yet to come. DEAD EARNEST


As far as the recordings for the 10 tracks on the album go, things were kept fairly honest and representative of the live sound (meaning you don't get too many overdubs on the guitar, except for a few short solos). It keeps the songs at their simplest and most effective in the melody range. There's something to say for the capacity of being able to write easily recognized, quickly sung-along tunes too, and I can easily imagine this band going over very well with the party-going crowds of both Metal and Hardcore scenes indeed! CONCRETE WEB


ROCK SOUND 6/10

KERRANG 2/5 ha ha ha ha

CONCRETE WEB 82/100