The last time I chatted with metal and roll outfit None The Less the Watford five-piece promised to keep plugging away and not to give up their very obvious talent.

Some nine months later the guys are reflecting on a string of successful tour dates all over the country and the upcoming January release of their debut album, The Way to Save Ourselves.

Recently signed to a management the company they seem as popular as ever; their post nu / thrash metal sound still very much in vogue with an ever growing fan-base.

“We’re well over the 30,000 friends mark on Myspace now, says affable front-man Ant Giannaccini.

“We’ve been playing a lot of dates all around the country and are getting known by people all over. It’s a great feeling to be known outside of Watford. We really fell like we’re heading in the right direction.

“There have been times when we’ve played crappy gigs and wanted to pack it in, but also times when we’ve done and amazing show and remind ourselves how much we want it – like in April when we sold out the Railway Club.

“There was about 200 people in there singing along with every word – that’s why we work so hard at it.”

And work hard the guys certainly do. With more than 200 gigs under their belts they bring with them a stage routine polished to a near chromatic shine.

The seven track* mini-album, and upcoming single Define (with video) will, with a bit of luck, put some meat on the bones and win the kind of recognition None the Less fully deserve.

“We plan to make waves with these releases,” continues Ant. “We want to make people sit up and take notice.

“We know its hard for young bands in our position to get noticed – there always seems to be a next big thing coming out of nowhere – but we’ve really worked hard on our sound and feel we’ve matured as a band.

“Our sound is probably a little edgier and harder than before but we’ve been careful to remain a vocal band and not let the screaming take over, like some other bands have.

“We always describe ourselves as a metal n roll band and we’re trying to make that stick – we think it’s the best description available.

“We’ve also cut back on the gigs we were playing – partly because three of us are at university – and are now just focusing on the bigger ones. We’ve probably played a few too many in reality but we learned a hell of a lot from them.

So what’s next?

“We’re going to keep going on and on. We’re realistic about the future but we’re all enjoying what we’re doing. We’re really happy with the new album and are working on some new tracks for the future. We’re not going anywhere.”

Release details for Define and The Way to Save Ourselves are yet to be announced. For more info see www.myspace.com/nonethelessonline.

*A quick footnote here about the proper length or otherwise of an album. The guys seem to think a seven tracker a mini album. I disagree – make all the tracks count and it’s just the right length. One of my favourite albums, Neil Young’s Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, is also a seven tracker. So there.