What happens when you cross AWOLNATION with an esteemed music producer? It’s obviously a riff-heavy West Coast hardcore album!
After a very well-received debut album, there was no turning back for The Barbarians Of California. The brainchild of Aaron Bruno from AWOLNATION and producer Eric Stenman (Deftones, Earth Crisis, Thrice), 2024's Dopamine Prophecy was a wild, incendiary burst of hardcore, thrash and wild energy that didn't reinvent any wheels, but did a very good job of channeling the most evergetic bits of their heroes. Somehow, this second effort may just outslug the first time round.
Kicking and thrashing its way out of the traps is BACK TO THE VALLEY, with all the bombast you’d hope for, and more than a little technicality in the vein of The Dillinger Escape Plan. Following on, THE GNARLYCORE CLASS and VANILLA LATTE spin things up with more aggression and frantic riffage. The weight of the record becomes apparent from here, where the sheer scale of the writing comes into view and could, arguably, be compared to some of the biggest metal tracks of the ‘90s.
BOMB TO A KNIFE FIGHT gets silly and hammer-blow heavy at the exact same time, before REALLY REALLY RAD compounds the madness and adds a crushing groove that’s near-impossible not to headbang along to, bringing some elements of stoner and sludge into the blender. EARTHQUAKE and MODERN FASHION keep it up, with a smile pinned over the top of a serious stank face asking the listener to ‘Come and fuck with The Barbarians!’
The only real hard left comes in the form of the last two tracks, SHARK OUT OF WATER and I AM THE SUBMARINE. Acting as two halves of the same song, with the former calms everything down with a solemn acoustic tone before one final monster riff blows the last piece of ruptured eardrum out of the way.
MEGATONS is absolutely overflowing with riffs, brimming with swagger and groove, and drowning in both piss and vinegar. There’s nothing not to love here!
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: Every Time I Die, Converge, Metallica
MEGATONS is released on August 21st via Villains For Good.
