BAT – Primitive Age (Tankcrimes)
Sunday, 29th December 2013
BAT is a three-piece “supergroup” consisting of Ryan Waste (Municipal Waste), Felix Griffin (D.R.I.), and Nick Poulos (Volture). This is a tribute to ‘80s bands such as Motorhead, Venom, and Hellhammer with some punk/hardcore attitude. Everything about this release puts the old in old school (it is called Primitive Age after all), from the cover art, which looks like it could be a demo tape, to the tunes themselves.
Primitive Age hits most of the marks where it needs to. The riffs are high-energy, full of hooks, the vocals are quite Venom/Celtic Frost inspired, and the drums give the required kick. The production is suitably vintage as well, giving it a ‘sounds like you are in the ‘80s’ feel as opposed to a tribute or homage. However, the lyrics can be a bit goofy, especially “Code Rude” and “BAT” and it makes it a bit harder to continue to listen to than it otherwise would, especially with the very decipherable vocals. Surely, there is an audience for it, but it’s just a matter of personal preference.
It’s well played but ultimately a bit too familiar, though any fans of the members involved will most likely enjoy hearing their take on this material. More or less, Primitive Age provides an album that’s fine for cracking open a few beers and tailgating. There’s not much deeper meaning than that. On the upside, the band has placed a “name your price” download for the EP, so there’s no risk to a potential listener in checking it out.
