Kong - Snake Magnet

Every city has its fair share of nutters, but trust Manchester to churn out a trio who are both unhinged and musically brilliant. With their scuzzy, down-tuned guitars, manic cackles and schizophrenic time signature changes evoking early System of a Down, this is metal its most mental. Thankfully, the fine line between genius and insanity that Kong tread means that, rather than being padded out with clichéd palm-muted riffery, Snake Magnet is bursting with heavy rock innovation. Nih, for example, is an argument between Norman Bates and his mother, put to a Fugazi soundtrack. If only for dynamics, there’s also Wet Your Knives, an instrumental that starts out as jazz-metal fusion, before growing into a bleepy keyboard jam session. If you’re into twisted metal performed by people with faces wrapped in sellotape, then today's your lucky day. If not, I suggest you toddle off in the opposite direction immediately.