Experience the sophisticated sounds Derange can be proud to call their own.

A young London band who have built a recognisable sound and enthusiastic fan base over the last three years or so, Derange site acts such as Tesseract, Periphery and Karnivool as touching points, and unusually, they're not far off the money.

However with the vocals of Cat Pereira a driving force, they have a USP and while female Rock/Metal vocalists are hardly a rare thing these days (and we're all the better for that fact), to hear a young lady with a voice as impressive as that shown here – and the confidence to use it to the full – is still quite a shock. The full vocal gamut is run across 'The Awakening', a beautiful steady attack utilised to seduce and persuade, while a throaty roar is employed to snarl, bite and generally cause much cowering. It's a fine mix and one producer Russ Russell (Dimmu Borgir, Sikth) highlights with real skill; Pereira's vocal attack is clear and sharp but dirty and brutal when the need arises.

Caustic guitars dart and jab continuously, Derange not afraid to churn up a serious maelstrom to get their message across, yet unlike many of their peers even when they are going all out, melody always remains at their core. 'The Observer' is possibly the best example of how 'The Awakening' surges through its gears, a plaintive intro building into a tumble of guitars and stunning layered vocals, before the riff is stepped up and the drums power into overdrive. Pereira works at her aggressive best here, providing a heady intoxication of emotion and control, the harshness of her delivery never over stepping the mark or careening into parody. However, you could choose from 'The Thinker', 'Passive' or the captivating 'The Negative', where the bass proves invaluable, to discover this band at their best.

Lyrically 'The Awakening' pulls no punches, revolving around themes of "self realisation and improvement in our own state of mind". However that this band deal in such mature subject matter should come as little surprise when you experience the sophisticated sounds Derange can be proud to call their own.

Steven Reid