Five tracks of French hardcore built around a ferocious and blurry delivery whilst the vocals are barked out, almost in a state of desperation. Throw in a few short, broody musical interludes and, in short, that is Mental Distress. This is a marvellous record, which makes my nerve endings tingle and my whole body shake. It’s released on ten labels, but mine came from Crapoulet in France. –Rich Cocksedge (Crapoulet, [email protected], crapoulet.fr)