Take the raw fury of Kyuss’ Wretch, mix it with the aesthetics of some of the greatest albums by Bad Religion and throw Andrew Schwab of Project 86 in front of the microphone and you’ll get a small inkling of what Norway’s Bokassa has to offer.
Head wrapped around that yet?If you’re still with us then buckle up for a bumpy desert rock ride fueled by unrefined punk aggression.
“Impending Doom” is probably the quietest slab of rawk here but even this instrumental sludge steamroller will manage to light a fire under your ass. “Last Night (Was a Real Massacre)” on out, though, begins a no holds barred journey of riffage that’ll have have heavy music fans constantly banging their heads when they can manage to pick their jaws off the floor at the astonishment of the intricate musicality within Divide & Conquer, that is!
Onward, “Crocsodile Dundee” shreds and shimmies and lays the groundwork for the pummeling that “Genocidal Tendencies” brings afterward. “Five Finger Fuckhead” is the sum parts of P86, Bad Religion, and Kyuss’ earliest works with some of the coolest riffs Josh Homme never managed to capture but Bokassa guitarist/vocalist Jørn Kaarstad did while “Here Goes Nothing” thunders along thanks in part to drummer Olav Dowkes’ inspired bashing.
After a short punk blast with “Retaliation” which sees Bokassa’s musicianship firing on all cylinders, the trio close out Divide & Conquer with the monolithic “Immortal Space Pirate (The Stoner Anthem)” which could be just that with Kaarstad, Dowkes, and Bård Linga’s low end rumbles working in perfect synchronicity.
Divide & Conquer is out via All Good Clean Records on March 24th. Your very own copy can be purchased here and here. For more on Bokassa, head on over here.