_{“Cheated Death” is the fifth album from American band Against The Grain, but their first with Ripple Music, and it was released on 9th February. As I’ve said before, I’m not a big fan of genre labels being assigned to bands, and it seems Against The Grain might be of the same mind as the music ‘press’ seem to have problems labelling them. I’m sure someone will come up with a label to cover a hybrid of speed-metal, punk, rock, doom and thrash! On their Facebook page the band refer to it as “gear-shifting rock ‘n’ roll”. Whatever you want to call it, I like it! The title track “Cheated Death” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 2nd February.}

_{Against The Grain are from Michigan and they released their self-titled debut album in 2009, followed by “Motor City Speed Rock” in 2012 and “Surrounded by Snakes” in 2013. The band toured constantly throughout these years, including shows with bands such as Anvil and Night Demon. Their fourth album “Road Warriors” was released in 2015, before they signed to Ripple Music.}

_{The band features brothers Chris and Rob Nowak on bass / lead vocals and drums respectively, plus Nick Bellomo and Kyle Davis on guitars. Check out the band’s Facebook page for more info - https://www.facebook.com/Againstthegraindetroit/}

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_{About “NI Rocks Recommends”}

_{The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!}

_{My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows on Rock Radio NI.}

_{Check out NI Rocks on Facebook – www.facebook.com/NIRocks or Twitter - www.twitter.com/NIrelandRocks}