The likelihood is, if you have already experienced Butcher Babies in any capacity, you have probably already made up your opinion of them. Always receiving a very mixed response since they made headlines due to their stage attire, critically they have either been hugely celebrated or completely panned. Regardless of opinion, Butcher Babies generate a strong reaction whatever they do, and therefore are in that sense an exciting presence. Musically, they are simply far less interesting, and third album Lilith (Century Media) is a continuation of that trend.

Of course, the centre points of the band are the two front-women Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey, and they are undoubtedly the stars of the show. Showcasing a strong chemistry both due to their harmonies and also through their complimentary ranges, it cannot be overlooked enough just how commanding and ferocious they are, with Shepherd delivering some particularly striking growls that put her into some high company for this style of heavy metal. That they also pour out passion makes their vocal delivery the absolute highlight of the album.

Sadly, that is pretty much it. Butcher Babies are hardly an attempt at reinventing the wheel in fairness, but musically they are so generic and all too familiar without too much substance. Lilith is far too cliché ridden and too aping of peers to really make an impact; full of predictable tropes throughout from sign-posted breakdowns to the occasional misleading slow of a pace to attempt at atmosphere.

Butcher Babies are a sorry case that musically they offer nothing to anyone other than those seeking the most simple of metal thrills which can already be found being done so much better in a tonne of places, but are fronted by two absolute stars who give an impassioned and ultimately believable performance. The polar opposites of stardom in the ranks, it is like Tom Hanks giving an Oscar-worthy performance in an amateur dramatics play.

5.0/10

CHRIS TIPPELL