Municipal Waste’s Ryan Waste has recruited Volture compadre Nick Poulus and former DRI legend Felix Griffin to bring us Bat. Wings Of Chains is best thought of as a love letter from Richmond, Virginia to the north east of England.
In particular, the focus is on Neat Records, home of the mighty Venom in the glory days of the early 80s. Venom’s DNA runs through every track on Bat’s debut, but is mixed in with plenty Atomkraft and metric tons of the legendary Tank.
The nocturnal trio have one claw planted in in the fertile guano of NWOBHM and the other in US crossover. Their debut full-length features all five tracks from their 2013 demo plus Cruel Discipline from last year’s seven-inch, but re-recorded for a bigger, more savage sound – not Municipal Waste’s razor-edged crunch, but a collection of bullet-belt-clad bulldozing anthems. Code Rude hits like a baseball bat and Primitive Age chugs and stomps like SOD in concrete boots – this is primal, caveman speed metal with the emphasis on brute force and savagery.
