You can’t accuse The Domes of Silence of being un-ambitious. Apparently aiming to fuse the ‘smoothness’ of Neil Diamond with The Stooges, classifying this debut is almost as difficult as imagining why anybody would want to inflict such a combination on an unsuspecting public in the first place.

Thankfully, there’s more Iggy here than there is Neil. Vocals are delivered in suitably deadpan style by singer Sean Parkin, and the guitar sound is raw rather than MOR. ‘Utopia’ is featured on war game Vietcong and it’s easy to imagine this entire LP as the perfect soundtrack to a slaughter.

Opener ‘Silver Buddha’ starts ominously before building into a frantic finale, with Parkin chanting as much as singing over a heavy but funky backing. ‘Far From Bourbon Nights’ is an altogether more downbeat number, showcasing some crooned vocals that Mr Diamond would no doubt approve of.

“Grief is all I expect / grief is all I get,” laments Parkin on ‘Tarnished Evidence,’ and it’s here that The Domes Of Silence start to pick up the pace. Staccato bursts of guitar and some satisfyingly fuzzy bass-lines lend some urgency to proceedings as Parkin’s howl becomes ever more manic.

They maintain this tempo for ‘Lost Weekend’ and title track ‘Mescaline,’ as well as the righteous anger. The more wound-up Parkin sounds, and the closer to metal their noise gets, the better Domes are.

The front-man says he formed the band to “purge a few musical demons,” and ‘Nothing Good’ sounds particularly therapeutic, with drummer Alex Lane pounding the bass drum as if his sanity depends on it.

‘Jenna’ sees them slow things down a little, without losing that intensity. A threatening bass-line is pierced by some taught guitar work as Parkin demands “one more kiss before I die.”

It’s hardly easy listening, but I would imagine that The Domes Of Silence aren’t aiming for the CD:UK market. Or if they are, it’s with a gun of some description.