Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
Tomorrow… Friday, May 19th will see the release of the new full-length album from the UK’s Steak, ‘No God To Save‘, via Ripple Music. This is one release that I have been eagerly awaiting and have now been jamming non-stop for a couple of weeks.
The band’s 2015 full-length début, ‘Slab City’, had the same effect on me at the time too, I couldn’t remove it from any player within my vicinity. Now Kip, Cam, Reece, and Sammy have returned with this new opus of succulent substance and flavoring.
To be straightforward, this album starts off with what is my favorite song, “Overthrow“. At a little over seven minutes in length, the fantastic Stoner/ Desert Rock riffs that intro the cut are divine. Hazily they float, growing more and more dense before things fully erupt into a hypnotic groove. From there the track just rolls out with an aural content that’s only achieved by worshiping the likes of Kyuss or Colour Haze. The anthemic track strikes deep into your soul as the emotional vocals send shudders across your flesh.
From then on, each new tune is a heaping serving of diversified variety like the grungy doom of “Coke Dick” or the psyche-heavy, punk-tinged “King Lizard“. Those punk rock vibes permeate several of the songs actually, one that quickly comes to mind being “Living Like A Rat“. Angst-y and energized, the song rips right along then detours into some heady realms at times.
That headiness is also a defining element of other tracks, monumental odes such as the goth-inflected “Clones” seem to waft and drift at times. Those effectual touches are given free reign on the album, the closing duo “Wickerman” and “The Ebb“. The latter is especially quite striking, with its acoustic seasonings, an instrumental with darkly hewn overtones.
Yet, there is a balance here, my friends, for every lighter, melodic moment there’s an equally dense, thunderously crunching one. Look no further than the trifecta of “Mountain“, “Rough House“, and “Creeper“, a consecutive trio of incredible rockers. Savory guitars, rhythmic marbling, and exquisite vocalizations render an auditory nourishment like no other.
Yes, Steak has once again staked their claim to the very finest of heavy rock with ‘No God To Save‘. Much like the band’s namesake, there are different cuts here, but all are top Grade A Choice. Nothing is average or sub-par, no. In fact, this album is the Kobe beef of current releases… it may not melt in your mouth, but it damn sure will in your ears!
