The brainchild of the ever creative UK underground legend Paul Catten, Barrabus were officially resurrected last year. A genre-bucking beast, the besuited band’s self-titled debut is a criminally good offering packed with speaker-shaking, giant-slaying riffs and unhinged howls. The one-two punch of the fast, furious and utterly manic Merrick and the muscular slice of lunacy that is Master Of Disguise is an instant knock-out. The 10- track opus isn’t all about buzzsaw guitars and batshit crazy vocals, though. Driven by a deliciously scuzzy riff, Kleptomania shows Barrabus have plenty of tricks up their sleeves and features a wacky, wonky Southern rock flavoured solo that could’ve been purloined from Ted Nugent’s back catalogue. Meanwhile, the mid-paced The End adds some Middle Eastern-inspired guitars to the mix, perhaps in tribute to the Doors song of the same name. A thrilling new chapter in Catten’s continuing musical tale, the record is a sludge, punk and noise rock-informed riot.
Barrabus - Barrabus album review
UK underground firebrand resurrects his monstrous riff beast
You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.
More about metal hammer
