Yakuza

It’s always pleasant to see a band expand their musical capabilities beyond an obvious genre, so with Chicago’s Yakuza investing some time in texturing their sound with more hints of jazz and blues on their fourth album, Transmutations, a dedicated ear is called for. The album provides quite a helping of death and doom metal with songs like "Meat Curtains” and "Steal the Fire” but also features an interesting trip into a psychedelic, heart-heavy place with tracks like "Egocide” and "Raus.” "Perception Management” acts as Transmutation’s shining star, embracing some seriously clean vocals and brick-to-the-face guitar riffs, making way for "Black Market Liver” and "Zombies” to finish off the album on a provocatively dark note. Even if you’re not a fan of metal, it’s undeniable that Yakuza are an interesting blend of talent and certainly deserve kudos for Transmutations’ eardrum goodies.