Richmond, Virginia metal-punk trio BAT has been delivering their own blood-spattered horror since ascending from the underground a decade ago on a dark, leather-winged trajectory. The brainchild of MUNICIPAL WASTE guitarists Ryan Waste & Nick Poulos, BAT leans heavily on the dirtier side of speed metal. On May 17th, the band welcomes the release of their second full-length album Under The Crooked Claw via Nuclear Blast Records.
Jam-packed with tight, concise songs loaded with punchy choruses and lightning-laced leads, each of the 13 tracks offers a new horror short story mixing the perfect blend of heavy metal, punk, and rock ‘n’ roll or as Waste coins it "primitive heavy speed".
The band offers the first single entitled, 'Rite For Exorcism' along with a video clip directed by Norman Cabrera, produced by Maya Kay, and cinematography by Rob Lucas at Wolfpack Studios.
BAT's Ryan Waste states,
“This record came together during dark times and its aggression is surely a reflection of that. Nick, Chris, and I hammered out song after song in a grimy, mold-ridden warehouse, turning our anger at the state of the world into what became 'Under the Crooked Claw'. To set the tone for the album, I called upon legendary Italian horror maestro Fabio Frizzi to compose an intro, just before BAT’s raw force assaults your ears. While simultaneously working on a heavy metal horror script with Norman Cabrera, I shared some of the new BAT songs with him. With our shared taste in film and vision, we devised two video concepts for the upcoming record based on my lyrics. The first offering is our twist on a tale of an exorcism gone awry, that Norman completely nailed to the cross.”
Stream the new single 'Rite For Exorcism' on all platforms now at:
https://bat.bfan.link/rfesg
Pre-order/pre-save Under The Crooked Claw:
https://bat.bfan.link/utcclp
Watch the music video for 'Rite For Exorcism', here: https://youtu.be/r9XsmFB8W08
BAT - Under The Crooked Claw Tracklist
1. Una Torcia Illumina Il Cielo (Fabio Frizzi)
2. Vampyre Lore
3. Rite For Exorcism
4. Streetbanger
5. Just Buried
6. Warshock
7. Horror Vision
8. Battered
9. Revenge of the Wolf
10. Marauders of Doom
11. Electric Warning
12. Bastardized Force
13. Final Strike
The power trio, completed by drummer Chris Marshall, decamped to Philadelphia in June 2021 where Arthur Rizk recorded the basic tracks for Under The Crooked Claw. Yavé Rust tracked lead guitars and vocals later when the band was back in Richmond, ultimately to be mixed by Rizk and mastered by Joel Grind. The artwork for the album was inked by Brandon Holt and colored by Margaret Rolicki.
