This is the second album by English party metal 'n roll trio XII Boar (pronounced Twelve Boar). The album was recorded and produced by Chris Fiedling at Skyhammer Studio (Conan, Electric Wizard, Winterfylleth), which might explain a bit about the groovy and sleazy sound of the whole thing. This stuff would also have been perfect for Rodeofest with its dirty, gritty but damn immersive sound.
The prologue sounds somewhat like a ritual dance, performed by the Apache or something. I really dig that one and I secretly hope that XII Boar uses this tune as an intro for their shows as well, only longer. Then, 'Beyond The Valley' kicks in, immediately followed by 'The Hustle' and then my personal favorite 'Strange Kinda Lonesome'. An awesome blend of rock 'n roll, metal blasts through my speakers and I'm definitely getting the party started.
The music on this album often reminds me of acts like Motorhead, Rob Zombie and perhaps Black Label Society. Quite often, the vocals come quite close to the smoked-out voice of Lemmy, while the music grooves and sleazes in perfect old school hard rock tradition. 'El Mucho Grande' even reminds me a bit of Anthrax, one of my absolute favorite bands back in my early heavy metal years.
Yes, there's quite a bit of thrash metal to be found here. 'Penetrator' somehow reminds me of acts like Overkill, but with Lemmy singing. 'Abyssal Lord' even blasts out some death metal energy for a short while, before going back to the groove. But this certainly is solid headbanging material, guaranteed to get you off your ass at gigs.'Black and Blues' is a grinding blues tune, but you'll probably already guessed that. There are few non-blues tracks with the word 'blues'.
Anyway, by now you should already have guessed that this album rocks. If you're into groovy party metal, this is an absolute must-have. I only hope that, following the release of this gem, XII Boar will hit the road and tour Europe. I'm absolutely sure that they will kick off parties at every sleazy venue or festival the play and I kinda want to experience that.
Serge