Sleigh Bells - Reign Of Terror

2010's debut record Treats saw Sleigh Bells present a boldly realised vision - a mix of hip-hop beats, hard-hitting metal guitars, sweetly sung vocals and cheerleader chants that by rights probably shouldn't have worked, but in fact made for one of the year's most compelling LPs. Follow-up Reign Of Terror looks to up the ante from the outset, as 'True Shred Guitar' begins with vocalist Alexis Krauss playing hype-woman to a roaring crowd before a typically punishing riff kicks in.

Indeed, the brash, in-your-face sensibilities of Treats are still very much present here, as the searing guitar stabs and punishing machine-gun drums of 'Born To Lose' amply demonstrate. Those drums return on 'Demons', accompanied by the record's most vicious guitars and aggressive vocals, and again on the sinister, defiant 'Never Say Die' - it's a trick that fits with the band's sound, and fortunately it doesn't get old.

What may be surprising, however, is the distinctly downbeat emotional turn that the band have taken on large parts of this record. 'End Of The Line' features an emotionally detached performance from Krauss mixed with some relatively soft guitars, while 'Leader Of The Pack' is the flip side of the coin - underneath its confident instrumentation there's a distinct undercurrent of sadness ("Don't you know he's never coming back now").

Indeed, those who'd written off Alexis as merely a bratty cheerleader may be surprised by some of her turns on Reign Of Terror. "I don't want you to see me this way," she sighs on 'You Lost Me', her defeated, melancholy vocals a direct contrast to Derek Miller's soaring, stadium-ready riffs. 'D.O.A.' plunges deeper into the abyss, conjuring up adjectives that you would never previously have associated with Sleigh Bells. The echoing guitars feel bleak, desolate even, while Alexis sounds like a broken soul with nothing left to lose - the end result is a chilling feeling of hollow desperation. Even some of the punchier songs have a darker lyrical edge, 'Born To Lose' being a prime example - the song opens with Alexis cooing "Heard you say suicide in your sleep/just get on with it, you were born to lose."

There is some light amongst the darkness though, with the go-get-'em attitude of 'Comeback Kid' providing a mid-album morale boost via chirpy keyboards and buoyant lyrics ("I know it's hard but/you've gotta deal with it/why don't you turn around/show me what you're made of"). 'Crush', meanwhile, mixes breathy vocals and exuberant shouts with a bold, bright guitar sound, stomping kick drums and thunderous handclaps to form a stadium-sized anthem.

Reign Of Terror is a great record, although it isn't entirely without problems. 'Road To Hell's chugging guitars feel a little too lethargic, and the album as a whole is possibly a little front-loaded - but I thought the same about Treats, and that didn't stop me enjoying it as a whole. Overall, it feels like this is a step forward for Sleigh Bells - maintaining the same fusion of disparate sounds and packing not only more sonic punch, but also more emotional weight.