REVIEWS

96 BITTER BEINGS

Return To Hellview

NUCLEAR BLAST

Former CKY frontman returns to dust off his old hits

There might not have been a clamour for this re-recording of CKY’s biggest hits, but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable. 96 Bitter Beings is fronted by ex-CKY frontman Deron Miller, who’s indulging in some newly packaged nostalgia following two original records. Return To Hellview has enough grit and modernisation to pull in new listeners, and enough familiarity to appease the diehards. The improved instrumentals are largely everything the original songs deserved, with crunchy guitars and the iconic riffs punching through the noise. However, Deron’s vocals lack the grit and angst he displayed back in 2002, while the drums are uninspiring. At least the production has improved since 2022’s Synergy Restored.

■■■■■■

FOR FANS OF: CKY, Finger Eleven, Faith No More

CHERI FAULKNER

200 STAB WOUNDS

Manual Manic Procedures

METAL BLADE

USDM newbies back up their bloody bravado

Yet another great band to emerge from the US death metal scene, 200 Stab Wounds are laudably obnoxious. The follow-up to 2021’s Slave To The Scalpel has a real swagger to it, as the Cleveland quartet sweat blood to be as brutal and malevolent as possible. Manual Manic Procedures is an exhilarating, old-school beat ’em up: heavy on berserker blasts and riffs that groove and grind with evil intent. Seriously gruesome artwork is more than matched by the serial killer vibes that ooze from songs like Hands Of Eternity and Defiled Gestation. Shades of early Carcass and Cannibal Corpse give 200SW an authoritative quality that makes them serious contenders, with guts and gore to spare.

■■■■■■■■

FOR FANS OF: Sanguisugabogg, Vomit Forth, Undeath

DOM LAWSON

ANVIL

One And Only

AFM

Metal’s most persistent veterans hit a 20-album landmark

‘You’ll never get far doing the same old thing / Groundbreaking is always king,’ warbles Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow on the title track and opener to Anvil’s 20th studio album, his tongue clearly firmly in his cheek. The Canadians’ first two albums might have been underrated and influential gems, but they’ve essentially been putting out variations on the theme for more than four decades now. There’s nothing wrong with that necessarily, and this is the same sort of over-the-top headbanging fare that they’ve hammered out so many times over the years, all served up with slashing riffs, pounding rhythms and a slightly bemused lyrical take. Anvil still fit like a pair of well-worn studded leather slippers.

■■■■■■

FOR FANS OF: Raven, Wolf, Saxon

PAUL TRAVERS

BAD BREEDING

Contempt

ONE LITTLE INDEPENDENT

UK punks add some accessibility to their anarchy

After a full decade, Stevenage punks Bad Breeding have made the leap from dingy DIY venues to primetime radio without sacrificing any of their righteous fury. Boasting a crisp, punchy production courtesy of Uniform’s Ben Greenberg, Contempt is both the band’s most polished and experimental-sounding release yet. Temple Of Victory is an opening demonstration as its huge, anthemic chords abruptly give way to an eerie, almost industrial smog. Their sound balances the indignation of classic anarcho punk with a more modern hardcore sheen, especially on tracks like the driving Devotion, while dirgier likes of Discipline and Gilded Cage recall the noisy mangle of Drunk In Hell. That anarcho influence isn’t just for show either; Christopher Dodd’s lyrics are more venomous and articulate than ever, firing off seething anti-capitalist missives and calling for class revolution.

■■■■■■■

FOR FANS OF: The Flex, Flux Of Pink Indians, Crass

KEZ WHELAN