When they last released an album, 2018’s Let The Tyrants Rise, Spanish blackthrashers Nuclear Revenge were a power trio hell bent on wreaking havoc on the ears.

Now, in 2021, the band has expanded to quartet size with the addition of bassist Skullreaper and guitarist Pestilence Breeder augmenting drummer Speedhammer and guitaring vocalist Cryptic Aggressor, but the good news is your ears still won’t be safe if ever they come into the vicinity of this band…

Basic, brutal, bruising… that’s the best way to describe the noise spewing from the speakers as I type in praise of Dawn of the Primitive Age, and we all know we wouldn’t have it any other way. The title track in particular is a toxic, tar-coated piece of sonic bludgeon, with Speedhammer rattling away at the back in company of Skullreaper; it’s relentless, but it gets the job done. The twin guitar assault adds beef to the bones that were here before, and it has to be said that there are some truly apocalyptic riffs to be found throughout the album. Solos are kept to a minimum and made to count, with the result being a tight, claustrophobic, blackened row that, whilst adding nothing to the universal knowledge base in terms off uniqueness or groundbreaking intent, at least gives the listener plenty to think about whilst throwing themselves around the living room.

Descending Wings of Perversion is as mad as the name suggests, with Skullreaper cutting through the mix with some strident four string work, and it’s probably the best track on offer, although the band’s decision to slow things down a little for the start of Eyes of Revelations makes that track stick out from the pack a little too. But at the end of the day it’s all about heads-down, no-nonsense mindless thrashing, and Nuclear Revenge do that as well as anyone else you’ll hear plugging a guitar into an amp at this moment in time. Good stuff, Basque blokes!

Dawn of the Primitive Age is out now