Our love for Magnetic Eye Records has been well documented in these pages so it should come as no surprise that their latest offering, from Chicago’s These Beasts, is an aural walloping unlike any you’ve heard before.
“End of the Whip” sets These Beasts’ debut up nicely with Jacob Bannon-style screams from Chris Roo alongside this Unsane low end and Desert Rawk vibes put through a Helmet, circa Amphetamine Reptile Records, blender. And that’s just the opening track, people!
“Shovel and Pick” goes into a whole new range of sounds, bringing to mind Shellac’s calculated quirkiness before slamming listeners over the head with another barrage of old school NYC-style post-hardcore goodness. Back to the straight heavy, “Shirilla in a Tub” is a constant sonic battering highlighting Keith Anderson’s accented attacks (Dale Crover’s sick performance on Houdini comes to mind on this one) that never lets up.
“Fedor” highlights Roo and all his guitar stylings as Todd Fabian lays a solid bass foundation before yet another heavy ass pummeling takes place. Are you sensing a recurring theme with These Beasts and their brand of rawk yet, kiddies? Later, Fabian is on fire during the opening sludge of “Luke Warm at Best” while “Impugn” has the bassist leading the charge on this start/stop epic closer that is a melodic maelstrom of Roo’s riffs and powerful percussive pounding from Anderson.
These Beasts is out through Magnetic Eye Records on March 29th. Pre-orders can be pre-ordered by clicking here or here. For more on These Beasts, head on over to this location.