Tokyo's CLOUD NINE are a metal band brimming over with youthful energy and metal attitude. The songs here are sung partially in Japanese, partially in English, and range from bruising heaviness to FM-oriented modern hard rock song craft.

Judging from CLOUD NINE’s songs and artwork, they are attempting to tap into the market frequented by fans of bands like KORN or NICKLEBACK. But fortunately for us, they just have too much fire in their souls. Maybe it’s because of the fact that CLOUD NINE six-stringer Shun is an incredible riff-monger, and bassist Maru is one of the most talented in heavy rock today…period. These guys come across with much more credibility than the above-mentioned American suck-rock bands that they may be emulating. Stuff like “On The Bullet” alternating between bouncy, down tuned riffs and sparkly clean guitar melodies calls to mind great 90’s stuff like the first couple of HELMET albums, while “Trust” reminds me a little of Corey Taylor’s STONE SOUR album from last year (which I remember also being pretty good for the nu-metal style). Couple these tendencies with echoes of 80s rock greatness (check out the classical guitar solo in “Night Fall” or the catchy hooks in “Mazy” for evidence) that recalls stuff like E-Z-O or even BANG TANGO. At that point, the picture becomes clear. This band really kicks some arse and shouldn’t confine itself to the shackles of American “Hit Parader" heroes.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/cloudninetokyo

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