In September 2006, a band by the name of Seven opened for the up-and-coming Karnivool at the sweaty, sweltering Ruby's Lounge, east of Melbourne. Seven never had a particularly lasting impact on Australia's music scene in their careers, but even now, two years later, I can vividly remember the sheer electricity they generated on that Belgrave stage.

I wasted no time plonking down my $10 to buy their EP Escape Sequence, expecting that when I got it home and played it, the CD would literally pop out of my stereo from the amounts of energy contained on that little piece of plastic.

Instead, what I heard was limp and lifeless; the kineticism of their live show had entirely failed to translate onto the recorded medium.

For bands that spend great lengths of time developing their live chops, it can be difficult to make the transition to CD. Melbourne's Rook were one such band, once.

As good as the songs on their latest release (Transitions) were, that EP couldn't hold a candle to the religious experience their concerts could inspire. For a band on the heavier end of the spectrum, as Rook are, bringing that style of music to life can be far more difficult than it is for an acoustic or indie rock band, and the better you are as a live outfit, the harder it is for you to capture that in the recording process.

As it happened, Rook commanded one of Melbourne's most loyal fan bases due in large part to their ability to rip up a stage with the best, and that's precisely what Transitions would forever be unable to convey.

Its lacklustre production didn't help much, so it's a good thing Rook got Shihad drummer Tom Larkin and uber-producer Forrester "the fourth/fifth/sixth member of every band in Australia" Savell involved this time around. While no release will ever completely encapsulate the feeling of a Rook gig, Add Colour comes pretty damn close.

(Ironically, it was Savell who produced, mastered and engineered Seven's afore-mentioned Escape Sequence. I guess he's changed his style a lot since then.)

With only five songs in the barely 20-minute long collection, the band have chosen the songs that provide the most bang for buck, and there isn't a low point on the EP.

But that doesn't necessarily mean they've gone for an all-out heaviness assault. As the title suggests, each and every song is luciously painted with a brilliant array of colours, moods and emotions. The EP reflects the diverse range of influences that combine to produce the signature Rook sound: grunge, dub, reggae and world music receive equal representation among the good old Australian heavy alternative rock that forms their foundation.

Larkin's influence is especially evident in the use of delay effects and vocal harmonies, something not as extensively employed on Transitions or the much earlier Paper Street EP.

As a whole, Add Colour takes the sound that Rook have built a reputation on, and hauls it to the next level. The Bushido/.hinge-style progressive rock that has defined them in the past is still there (.hinge's Glenn Johnstone makes a guest appearance on "27 Seconds"), but they've added life, lustre, and above all, colour.

Ironically, with all the studio bells and whistles, it might end up being difficult for them to do it justice in a live setting.

Rook hit the road with Dead Letter Circus and Melodyssey throughout the rest of 2008. You can hear them on their MySpace profile at www.myspace.com/rookband.