Take elements of Slayer, Hatebreed, Pantera and a few others and you'd have a good idea of what Stampin' Ground sound like. The group have already built themselves up to considerable heights in their native U.K., releasing 3 successful albums and touring alongside numerous heavy hitters since their inception in 1995. As such, it appears as though they are now more than ready to make a name for themselves stateside.

Enlisting the considerable production talents of Andy Sneap (Killswitch Engage, Machine Head) for this outing, the bands sound is captured with a defined clarity that gives ample focus to both the riffs and vocals. Initially the album starts off quite promising with ominous Slayer-esque riffing leading right into a breakneck metallic assault. This momentum is carried over throughout the first few tracks and is easily a solid representation of the band firing on all cylinders. However, as the album progresses, the groups tendency to mix tough guy hardcore vocals with punchy riffing and dynamic metal breakdowns quickly begins to wear the listener down.

At times even coming off rappish, the vocal structuring of Adam Frakes-Sime can eventually begin to detract from the aggression and metal ferocity being conveyed by the rest of the band. Compound this with a number of fairly uneventful tracks and a faint trace of unnecessary posturing, plus a surprisingly neutered drum mix, and the album quickly begins to run into problems. Unfortunately, they are problems that the group are ultimately unable to remedy, leaving a number of tracks feeling as though the band were never able to find a solid footing. As a whole "A New Darkness Upon Us" is still an enjoyable album that does have its moments of brilliance, but in the long run they are too few and far between to really warrant it any considerable praise.