★★★★

Grr, argh!

There’s much meaty metal to be had in the debut offering from Sydney stoner sludgers Black Rheno. This truly is a juicy release, with six tracks of epic brutality rumbling back to back – and six tracks is all the EP needs to prove the band’s worth.

There’s something wonderfully grating about Let’s Start A Cult. With no shortage of thunderous drum lines, rolling guitars and gritty vocals, it’s sure to become a staple in your stoner rock collection this year. As the title suggests, ‘First World Bitches’ is fast and furious, sticking out like a sore thumb between the discordance of ‘Lock The Gate’ and the more ambient opening melody of ‘Destruction Line’. In contrast to other tracks here, the latter fuses more melodic aspects of the genre, momentarily demonstrating Black Rheno’s slightly softer side.

A point is lost for the indiscernible vocals – the brutality of the style aside, so much of the gnash in Ryan Miller’s voice is lost because of an apparent imbalance in the mix, which favours the beefy guitar and basslines, and not always in an enjoyable sense.

Though Black Rheno are still in their relative infancy, Let’s Start A Cult is evidence that they’re set to do great things.

Black Rheno’sLet’s Start A Cultis released indepently and available now via Rocket.

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