Of all the genres that have passed in the last 25 years, it’s difficult to imagine that nu-metal is top of the list when it comes to those that are being pined for. Fair play to New Orleans upstarts Cane Hill though, as they’ve unashamedly slapped the sounds of old all over their debut EP and it’s actually pretty good.

The 8 tracks across the self-titled tend to stick closely to the formula that brought Slipknot so much popularity in their early career. Stabbing, nagging riffs, deadened percussion and anthemic choruses all slot together nicely with a smidgen of metalcore stylings the giveaway that this was released now and not in 2001.

’Timebomb’ is likely to be the most talked-about track on the EP with a vocal style that apes everything that got people going batshit crazy for nu-metal in the first place. On occasion Cane Hill do drop the ball a bit and end up sounding like a parody rather than a genuine act, but overall the EP is a shitload of fun and more of a carefully considered tribute than out-and-out worship.

3.5/5

’Cane Hill EP’ by Cane Hill is out now on Rise Records.

Cane Hill links: Website|Facebook|Twitter

Words by Rob Fearnley.