You really have to admire the singular vision behind this debut effort, even if the beaked mascot does rather smack you around the head as it signposts Budgie as one of the influences driving this trio’s awesomely faithful evocation of the birth of heavy metal circa 1971.
It’s all here – Sabbath, MC5, Sir Lord Baltimore, Blue Cheer and more, all fuzzed to fuck and giving a firm, middle-fingered salute to all that came after.
The likes of Mark Of The Beast, Red Admiral Black Sunrise and Scratchin’ And Sniffin’ are built around monumental grooving riffs and epic swathes of aggressive, grimy distortion so authentic it feels as if you’re listening to the songs through some kind of audio time tunnel.
However, the band definitely save the best for last in the twisted shape of hidden track Beanstew, a psych-garage wig-out of sideburn-scorching intensity. Simply awesome, man.
