Most of the music I listen to doesn’t fall under the term “intense.” “Mellow” or “sweet” would be a more common descriptor, far from “intense.” So Welcome Back Delta’s new album “Shocker” was definitely a shock for me. The Cheltenham, England-based, slightly metal rock band has a powerful sound that took the focus away from the songs’ lyrics and sometimes even tune.

Because I am so unfamiliar with the genre, the songs were hard for me to distinguish from each other while listening. Even so, “Concrete Donkey” did stand out as a faster-paced song, and had an emotional quality to it.   Its creates chaotic sound made it energizing and motivating, and it had some interesting guitar solos.

The imagery of the song “Running Guns’” title reflected the abrasive vibe of the song. It had a non-stop beat, as well as some acerbic screams mixed in to add to the effect. Like in “Concrete Donkey,” Welcome Back Delta creates a motivating vibe, and whether it motivates one to go for a run or an all-out rampage depends on the listener. The hard-core music did sound like the perfect soundtrack to whatever hard-core activity the title suggests.

Watching the marvelous Welcome Back Delta pic.twitter.com/NCRFHMj6VU

— JJ Flames (@JJ_Flames) October 26, 2013

One song that was more my style was “Scimitar,” which was mellow by Welcome Back Delta standards. To me, it sounded a little bit like the Black Keys, but more harsh. This song had a different sound than the others and was a nice change of pace for the album.

“Spinal Injury” was a hard-core song. The name goes perfectly harsh sound of the screaming vocals and punk-sounding guitar. There were long, intense guitar solos and screaming, a medium-paced but still in your face ending to the album.

To a listener more familiar with the genre, Welcome Back Delta’s “Shocker” may be more unique and wide-spanning, but to someone completely new to the genre, it was just loud.