Mendeed

Because this young band hails from Scotland, simply saying their name aloud makes you want to roll out a Scottish brogue. Accents aside, Mendeed are a young band from the land of William Wallace that claim they are determined to add a new spin to the metalcore scene. Although there are slight radiations of metalcore on The Dead Live By Love, the Scotsmen mostly come off as a keyboard-less Children of Bodom. Although there are a few inclusions of modern metal clichés — clean vocals and surprisingly well-done twin-guitar lines — most dedicated fans will probably brush them aside. The Dead Live By Love is not a great album, but after holding somewhat low expectations from dudes with eyeliner who wanted to "cross-pollinate the metalcore scene even further,” it’s not a horrendous listen. Oh yeah, and kudos for not putting any bagpipes on the album, laddies!