Junior Bruce

Junior Bruce are like A389's fun cousins from down South ― while most of the label's releases are supercharged, shadowy black thrash punks from hell, Junior Bruce are the loud-mouthed guys who show up at a party with Southern Comfort and stories about fighting gators back home in Florida. They're the more laidback band that play slower and steadier, unleashing a Southern groove. One standout aspect of The Headless King is their thundering bass section. The whole album is produced to highlight the deeper aspects of heavy music, bringing a floor rumbling bass to the forefront and even, to a certain extent, letting the guitars support the low-end sound. With three guitarists and a bass player all tuned down and keeping things simple, the result is a compressed and extremely dense sound that may be too heavy for your speakers. As for the vocals, Scott Angelacos (ex-Hope and Suicide, Bloodlet) adds another layer to the band's sonic combustion, with a scream that sounds like it's fuelled by propane. The Headless King is an outstanding debut, with the technical precision of an air strike and the same explosive results.