April 24, 2012 • Translation Loss Records
So I've been following Struck by Lightning for a while, ever since I saw them open at a show and checked out their debut from a few years ago. This, their second album, is almost a year old by now but I'm finally catching up. Anyway, it's good. It seems that the band has moved up a bit in terms of sound and created something pretty darn cool.
The crust punk style that defined Serpents definitely still dominates the album, though (if you couldn't tell, just look at that classic cover art)—dirty, crunchy, and fast guitars, standard yet aggressive hardcore-punk-style drumming, and raw, angry, nihilistic sludge vocals. Some of my favorite elements of different kinds of heavy music all smashed together, and it's awesome.
While Serpents often flaunted a prog-sludge formula that was catchy but admittedly not terribly original, on True Predation it's more or less gone. Basically, there's less of that Mastodon sound (though the dual-guitar harmonies show up now and again). I think it's a good change for them; it seems they're a little more comfortable with their own sound and are developing a more tailored style. Songs still range from the more plodding ("Mindfucker") to fast and blazing ("Stalk and Prey"), so it doesn't get stale.
Essentially, Struck by Lightning is just as good now as they were back on their first album. I'm not totally sure if I'd say they're tons improved, but True Predation definitely doesn't disappoint. I can only wonder why they haven't done any shows around here lately (or, if they have, why I haven't found out about them).
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