Having formed back in 2005, it's only now that this four-piece from Chicago, Illinois is coming up with their debut album after the final production have been postponed since September last year. Madina Lake have become increasingly famous for earning $ 250,000 in the Fear Factor TV show and investing it in their first proper record. What happened in the middle of this fairy tale though, is less than fascinating. To earn the aforementioned sum, these guys had to eat some rotting cow parts and nearly died because of that in the hospital. Put aside the hype every record company is trying to create for their artists, and you'll get what Madina Lake really look and sound like. And it's... nothing special, to be honest. "From Them, Through Us, To You" is hardly your bombastic newcomer album of the year. It sounds as if they missed to put some of the ingredients in this mix of melodic hardcore and tamed metal, which ultimately breaks the balance and spoils the result. Like many of their contemporaries, what Madina Lake did was just to throw together tracks and call them an album. There are more proficient and interesting bands in this genre to look for. As for Madina Lake, we'll be expecting their next album to be less clumsily and patchy and much more consistent in terms of proper experience.