Lavotchkin

Release number five finds British pessimists Lavotchkin falling further down the spiral of emotional torment, channelled into two-minute discharges of mercurial distemper. Founded upon a ballast of hardcore ― peeling away the layers, one hears a Rollins-era Black Flag passion creating friction against the lumbering rhythms of NYHC heroes Sick Of It All ― yet creating a formidable warship, thanks to the influence of early Gothenburg death metal, cryptic punk, à la Turbonegro's Ass Cobra, and the obligatory elements of thrash that infiltrate most bands these days, the outfit prove that their previous high watermarks ― splits with Crocus and Attack Vipers! ― were no sweat. Ravaging six beastly tracks that don't test the borders of cacophony so much as bully them around with antagonizing confidence, this band are starting to sound like the equivalent of untreated rabies: hazardous, contagious, incurable, infinitely intriguing and outright deadly.