Stinking Lizaveta - Sacrifice and Bliss

In West Philadelphia, born and raised, well a basement is where they spent most of their days. Leaving out vox and guitaring old-school, Oxes go metal and pretty bloody cool. Well for a trio of guys this is really quite good - see them making racket in your neighbourhood. And so on. Six albums into their lyricless career, Stinking Lizaveta are still jamming out some excellent sounds without it getting old fast. That is no small achievement. While their jazzier instincts dictate the time changes and keep things unpredictable, it's tempered with a love of riffage and more than one exuberant solo. We Will See is an absolute belter, utilising some hefty chuggage and the old muted cymbal trick. It's goddamn chunky. Whereas A Man Without A Country is pacier and seems intended for high-speed car chases across pavements, through plate glass and crates of fresh fruit. Oh, and just check out that awesome whammy action. [Chris Cusack]