AN AUDACIOUS helping of hardcore-dance, punk, metal and everything in between has seen Enter Shikari soar back into the UK album charts for the second time around. The high-flying St Albans quartet went straight in at number 16 last month with Common Drea

AN AUDACIOUS helping of hardcore-dance, punk, metal and everything in between has seen Enter Shikari soar back into the UK album charts for the second time around.

The high-flying St Albans quartet went straight in at number 16 last month with Common Dreads, an album which sees them get even more experimental with their sound and lyrics than on their massively successful debut album Take to the Skies.

It was preceded by the hugely successful release of the single Juggernauts, which went in at number 28 in the chart and received major backing from Radio One.

The band - made up of lead vocalist Rou (Roughton) Reynolds, guitarist Rory Clewlow, bassist Chris Batten and drummer Rob Rolfe - completed the new album in January after many months spent writing the material in a shed-cum-studio in Chris' parents' back garden in St Albans.

The sound has moved on from their debut album which launched them into global stardom back in 2007, a year which also saw them clinch a string of music awards.

A big influence in their new sound, which sees them inject more drum-and-bass, melody and even rapping into their already eclectic blend, has been big-shot dance producer Andy Gray, who helped them produce the album. "He brought out the best in us," said Rob.

Describing their more mature sound, he said: "There are quite a few styles and genres in there that we didn't go into in the last album. We had the opportunity to do it and we really felt that we didn't want anything to hold us back.

"The album is all over the place to be honest, from jazz to straight -up hardcore-punk, to hardcore-dance to happy-hardcore, there is everything there really."

The band has also got more political with the new album.

Rob explained: "Lyrically, Roughton has come on massively since the first album and we are now a little bit more confident in what we know, what we believe in and what we can speak out about - we say something rather than shrouding it in metaphors.

He continued: "We've definitely got some messages in there so it would be great to open up a few ideas and get people thinking about the kind of situations we are in right now."

He added: "A lot of people say they don't like it when bands get political but, while our music comes first and we have a great album musically, if you then chose to listen to the lyrics on top of that, you will find they have some sort of meaning rather than us just talking about a girl that's hot."

And the material is going down well. As well as playing Radio One's Big Weekend and their third Download festival, the band recently rocked the Other Stage at Glastonbury.

They played their new single No Sleep Tonight alongside a brass band for the first time.

Enter Shikari are also set to play some of this summer's other biggest music festivals.

For more information about the band visit www.entershikari.com

AIMEE BRANNEN