"Dead Pool Rising" is the second album for NFD, the self described visceral darkwave goth rockers who feature in their ranks a veteran of the genre in FIELD OF THE NEPHILIM founder member Tony Petitt. The release follows the critically acclaimed debut record "No Love Lost" which helped build the band a healthy European following and a place on the bill at a number of festivals over the past couple of years.

The album starts with 3 absolutely superb songs. All brilliantly composed, punchy numbers and for me, instant doom metal classics. Lead single "Light My Way" kicks things off, and its dark mood and blinding chorus is matched in style by both of the following tracks, "My Possession" and "Caged." he latter happens to by my favourite from the record and by the end of this track, fans of mid-'90s PARADISE LOST will be delighted than finally another British band is producing equally as good material of exactly the same fashion.

Just as I was getting excited though, the following two tracks, "One Moment Between Us" and "Rise," drop the pace right down, descending the album to TYPE O NEGATIVE pace. While the first of the 2 tracks portrays undoubted quality, the slow depressive vibe of the songs makes me feel down in the doldrums. Don't listen to this stuff if you're feeling suicidal!

The pace is picked up again towards the end with "Descent" packing a punch and then the album's longest track, "Senseless," matches it for speed. Though the pace is back, the quality of the first 3 songs is not matched as "Senseless" in particular threatens to build up to an impressive climax but never actually does so and simply winds away for 8 minutes and never really gets anywhere.

Closing track "Dead Pool" drops the pace again but is the strongest of the slower tracks. Again it's dark, depressing, almost wrist slitting stuff, but fans of MY DYING BRIDE will be lapping it up as the chorus almost cries out in despair.

Not an album I would want to listen to throughout again, but certainly the first 3 numbers will make it onto my iPod. Doom enthusiasts will undoubtabley disagree and if you're a fan of the genre then "Dead Pool rising" delivers just about everything you'd want from a doom metal album. As almost the sole flag fliers for this genre in the UK, NFD have every chance of building a strong following and while "Dead Pool Rising" won't set the world alight, it will do nothing to hinder their progress on the underground metal scene.