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After an EP, a split and one quite brilliant Machine Head cover, Russian four-piece Vorvaň have a highly promising career ahead of them if this debut album is anything to go by.

The band meld the kind of Kurt Ballou-approved crust‘n’roll that Trap Them and Black Breath specialise in, but with a uniquely European twist.

Third Case Scenario blasts away for three and a half minutes before a huge, melodic hard rock riff steams in and turns the song into something radically different. Celestine, the jaw-dropping 10-minute-long centrepiece, changes rhythm ceaselessly while drawing you in slowly like Neurosis at their very best. Once Love Was Lost is also full of brilliantly catchy, straightforward rock pleasures. Much like Kvelertak on their debut, Vorvaň have shaken up what extreme music can be. They have the potential to be very special.

Since blagging his way onto the Hammer team a decade ago, Stephen has written countless features and reviews for the magazine, usually specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal, and still holds out the faint hope of one day getting his beloved U2 into the pages of the mag. He also regularly spouts his opinions on the Metal Hammer Podcast.