Words Adam Cooper.
Hard working Sydney 3 piece and groove metal exponents, Black Rheno caught my attention of late, by literally being everywhere! They seem to be like Salt and Pepper at the moment, (in everything). So when the opportunity came to review the lads new offering, their Let’s Start A Cult EP, I jumped at the chance.
Firstly the title of this EP is pure gold and warmed the cockles of my heart before the first riff was ruffed. Speaking of riffs… this little number is riddled with ‘em. The sometimes groovy, sometimes thrashy, sometimes punky guitar stylings of Nano, led me to believe that these guys could share the bill with anyone from Clowns to High Tension and back again. My mind even wandered to the late ’80s, early ’90s, a time before time, when the groove of Pantera, Mordred and Prong were frequenting my Corolla’s tape deck. Smashin’ it old school.
Loud and unapologetic, the guys no bullshit attitude and sentiment was clear from the outset. Highlights for me were ‘First World Bitches, (catchy title) and the bluesy, almost Clutch like ‘Rampage’. Very groove driven, mixing it up with timing and vocal changes. When they kick it back to swing mode, I was hooked and really appreciated Milla’s cleaner vocals on occasion, (could’ve even done with a bit more of that to be honest). The drumming on this is on point and Dougy’s snare sound cuts through nicely.
Musically it’s great and sounds like it should… nasty! (That is a good thing by the way). So if you like it Aussie and heavy, then this is your jam. It’s heavy as, it’s got fat riffs and it’s not all same-same…. what’s not to like?
Black Rheno’s Let’s Start A Cult EP is available now through Nerve Gas HERE.
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