Knot Afrayed is a St. Joseph, Missouri based metal band with a habit for flooding the local scene with hardcore live shows. The band’s first album [WfnD] has made its way around Kansas City and Omaha from their regular shows in the area.

The first thing to strike you about the album is the vocal range displayed throughout. The style of singing by Beau Martin is easily tacked to its influence but commonly switches within each song. The singing can range from real singing all the way to low growls. You could draw a line from Chris Cornell of Soundgarden to the singing in the middle of “[WfnD]” just seconds after a raspy growl reminiscent of Corey Taylor of Slipknot to begin the song.

The heavy handed drumming of Brian Kline and driving bass by Brice Hollandsworth give the songs their structure while the guitar and vocals provide the flash. The intricate guitar playing of Mike Carlson adds texture to the songs and keeps them from getting too muddy as many metal songs do. In other words; It’s not all power chords. While many songs here will remind of songs you already know from the radio, the frequent changes of pace keep them from getting too mundane.

The clear standout tracks are on the front side of the album. “Still Bleeding” and “Step Inside Yourself” are both high class rockers early in the CD sequence and sandwich the albums best track “The Other Side.” The chorus of “Take my hand, I’ll take you to the other side” is among the most memorable moments on [WfnD].

Key Tracks: “Still Bleeding” “The Other Side” “Step Inside Yourself”