War Moans

The connection between sex and warfare has always been implicit, but here a collection of notables from bands like Cave In and Converge make the dichotomy literally explicit — both on the striking cover art and in the words themselves. They’re deliberately difficult to pigeonhole but that freedom from definition allows them to exercise unfettered awesomeness. “Bone Chain” feels like Soundgarden as the thrash band they always threatened to become, “Date with the Devil” Mastodon as nineties doom, “Irons in the Fire” Only Living Witness as a mathcore act. It all weirdly feels like the work of one band, especially since they don’t skimp on the big arena-ready riffs. A wild ride on the hot rails to hell indeed.