Rat King are doing things a little differently on their second full length, Vicious Inhumanity. Shying away from the experimental sludge sounds of their earlier work, including 2016’s Garbage Island, the Seattle crew take a more extreme approach to their new album, Vicious Inhumanity.
Vicious Inhumanity is a fast-paced, neck-snapping chunk of death metal and grindcore, speeding through jagged riffs and high tempos. The vocals—compliments of guitarist and bassist Ricardo and Daniel Racines—are harsh and frantic, a quality that pairs nicely with the controlled chaos of the album. Rat King are at their best on groovy tracks like “Soledad,” which marries the labyrinthine riffs with deep grooves, and “In Quiet Sleep,” which sees the band take a progressive approach to songwriting.
“This album represents the frustration and anger of being alive in this day and age,” Rat King say of the album. “The music reflects that and it is a stepping stone of what’s to come.”
Listen to Vicious Inhumanity below; you can score a copy through Within the Mind Records.