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OFFENDED
Welcome To Nowhere

Self-released (2022)
Rating: 8.5/10

With a rather meaty guitar tone, UK metallers Offended have knocked on my door and served up a deliciously melodic debut full-length opus. Offended are a trio from Leeds featuring Carol Fernandez (vocals), Jamie Hollis (guitar, bass and keyboards) and Tom Hallam (drums) and together they make a fine hard rockin’ sound boasting plenty of hooks, bite and anthemic attitude, particularly with the opening cut ‘The Hell Zone’ where Carol’s tone brings a style of attitude not too dissimilar to that of The Runaways.

This really is a good little record featuring eight tidy tracks that provide instant access. Although the songs are catchy and instant, there’s clearly chemistry between the members which results in an interesting mix of hard rock styles.

‘Virtue & Vice’ has a swagger and weight where Carol’s voice again has that Debbie Harry-cum-Cherie Currie vibe and she’s able to effortlessly shift in-between the weightier riffs and lighter, poppier rock moments. ‘Burning Effigy’ begins with speedy axe work, the band billowing rust like some veteran New Wave Of British Heavy Metal act, while ‘The Curse’ chugs with equal, steely menace.

As the record unravels one feels as if they are experiencing something special and yet nostalgic as the trio taps into gloriously upbeat yet streetwise hard rock daubed in grease and vibrating like a storm.

The brooding title track is stark, almost gloomy in its acoustic trickling, and then there’s Carol’s haunting sneer which drags us into the darkness as the song builds. ‘Mistakes’ hints at more wistful, subtle notions before shifting into an all-out rock ‘n’ roll extravaganza before closer ‘The Fool’s Demise’ snorts with derision and charges like a flaming bull.

Every now and then a record like Welcome To Nowhere crawls from out of the cracks and you just have to marvel at its organic magic. Offended are my new favourite band.

Neil Arnold

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