Hark: Crystalline

Sky raising riffs from former Taint frontman

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Born from the ashes of the dearly departed Taint, hard-hitting power trio Hark are the product of the ever-fertile mind of guitarist, vocalist and illustrator Jim bob Isaac. Aided and abetted by former Whyteleaf rhythm section Nikolai Ribnikov and Simon Bonwick, their debut record is a criminally good offering that's positively packed to bursting point with speaker-shaking, sludge-laden, giant-slaying riffs.

Mixed by Converge’s Kurt Ballou and featuring a suitably righteous guest performance from Neil Fallon on Clear Light Of…, Hark take us on a metal, blues and punk-informed cosmic trip over the course of 10 tracks. Scarlet Extremities is the undisputed album highlight and is the sonic equivalent of punching a hole in the moon, but there are plenty of stellar moments throughout including Sins On Sleeves which has some brief hints of Southern rock peeping out among the pile-driving riffs and Hounded By Callus Decree, which boasts numerous dizzying time signatures and ferocious leather-lunged vocals and overall, it’s a thrilling new chapter in Jimbob’s continuing musical tale.