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American Nightmare are tortoises rather than hares when it comes to their work rate. They’ve released just two albums in two decades, and been blighted by enforcedname changes (they were Give Up The Ghost for a while), band members coming and going, plus splits and reformations. Better late than never, though, and this short, sharp shock of an album (Dream clocks in at an economical 36 seconds, while the longest track, 3.33-minute, gothic-tinged Colder Than Death, is practically a prog epic in comparison) finds the Bostonians on fiery and combative form, with a declaration of ‘Fuck everyone and everything’ on American Death. It’s punchy, accessible hardcore designed to get the pit raging, frontman Wes Eishold’s nihilistic roar filled with fury. Their time to transcend the scene may have passed during the wilderness years, but this little firecracker of a record has plenty of spark for fans.

Emma has been writing about music for 25 years, and is a regular contributor to Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog and Louder. During that time her words have also appeared in publications including Kerrang!, Melody Maker, Select, The Blues Magazine and many more. She is also a professional pedant and grammar nerd and has worked as a copy editor on everything from film titles through to high-end property magazines. In her spare time, when not at gigs, you’ll find her at her local stables hanging out with a bunch of extremely characterful horses.