96 BITTER BEINGS
Synergy Restored
NUCLEAR BLAST CKY’s former frontman keeps within his comfort zone
Founding CKY member Deron Miller has made no secret that 96 Bitter Beings is a continuation of the swaggering, Jackassaffiliated rock band he helped form in the late 90s. As such, this second album from them is exactly what you’d expect: 11 songs of perfectly functioning, riff-filled hard rock that will delight those who skateboard on a regular basis. There are a couple of standout tracks, namely opener Vaudeville’s Revenge and 90 Car Pile Up, while Slither Away delivers a nicely understated synth line. But ultimately, this is little more than a fine nostalgia trip.
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FOR FANS OF: CKY, Alien Ant Farm, Nonpoint
ELLIOT LEAVER
ASTROSAUR
Portals
PELAGIC Out-there heavy prog from the frozen North
A post-metal power trio from Oslo, Astrosaur gently prod the boundaries on their second full-length. Portals is wholly instrumental and built from surging, Mogwai-like crescendos, forceful waves of unison riffing and a sense of otherworldly vastness. Some of the band’s ideas are powerful enough to flourish within a succinct, four-minute storm of sound; Opening and Reptile Empire get to the point quickly, and stay there. But it’s lengthier pieces like Black Hole Earth that showcase Astrosaur’s ambition. Evolving from crazed riff assault to feather-light, beatific detour and back again, it’s overpowering in the best possible way. Even better, the closing Eternal Return is a 23-minute labyrinth of seamlessly blended atmospheres, artful dynamic shifts and, most importantly, massive riffs.
FOR FANS OF: Cult Of Luna, Elder, Mogwai
DOM LAWSON
AVOID
Cult Mentality
THRILLER Seattle alt metallers shake up their bag of tricks
Nostalgia and genrebending collide on Avoid’s follow-up to their 2020 EP, The Burner, as the Seattle five-piece flit unashamedly between nu metal, metalcore and thoroughly danceable pop-rocking beats. My World and Split (Kill It) mix glitchy electronica and riff-addled blasts, while meta-banger Whatever pays cheeky homage (cue the ‘Robot Voice’ spoken intro) to yesteryear’s crabcore acts amid a flurry of erratic rhythms and soaring vocal melodies. Measured chaos reigns elsewhere as vitriolic screams segue into saxdrenched noodling before Midnight Six’s industrial grooves and huge chorus conclude matters on an anthemic high. With Cult Mentality, Avoid have delivered a record written for the road, and with moshpits in mind.
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FOR FANS OF: Stray From The Path, Beartooth, Cane Hill
SOPHIE MAUGHAN
BATTALIONS
King Of ADead World
APF
Northern sludge aggressors get back into their groove
This Hull sludge quartet are going back to basics on their fourth album, homing in on the huge, infectious groove that made them such a force to be reckoned with. New drummer Simon Harrison has brought a ferocious energy to the band, dropping into swaggering grooves on songs like Bones To Dust. Phil Wilkinson’s hoarse shriek sounds more abrasive than ever, contrasting nicely with the band’s upbeat Southern bounce. That said, there’s a bit more darkness creeping into their crowd-pleasing swing this time around, as punkier cuts like Parasite drip with genuine malice. The closing title track, meanwhile, is the sludgiest thing they’ve produced yet, eschewing those stoner rock licks in favour of stark, crushing misery.
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FOR FANS OF: Charger, Clutch, Scissorfight
KEZ WHELAN
BLACK ANVIL
Regenesis
SEASON OF MIST
Sophisticated feralism from NYC’s black metal veterans
While this melodic BM institution’s fifth album features all the usual angry swarm-of-bees guitars, guttural blasphemies and tornado blasts of occult heat, Regenesis finds the band digging ever deeper into their bag of sepulchral tricks. Opener The Gates Of Brass features moments of Ghost-like grandeur, particularly in the choral backing vocals, which add a gothic ambiance to the proceedings. Silver & Steele is a pocket symphony of rain-slicked midnight gloom, and Grant Us His Love veers from visceral and raw musical violence to moments of ethereal, tragic beauty. Black Anvil still sound like prowling werewolves, they just sound like sophisticated ones here.
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FOR FANS OF: Watain, Dark Funeral, Judas Priest
KEN McINTYRE
BLACK ROYAL
Earthbound
M-THEORY AUDIO
Finnish filthmongers refine their
