4 out of 5

Label: Controlled Burn Records

Produced by: The Austerity Program

This is a beast of an album, even at only six tracks; even with only two dudes and a drum machine.  That shtick, of playing guitar and bass metal riffage against a programmed beat, has already produced some killer tracks and releases over the years, but Bible Songs somehow takes it all to a new level.  There’s still that edge of mechanical precision  that gives the group a harsh, unique sound, as Justin Foley shreds his guitar and vocal chords and Thad Calabrese slaughters his bass, but in the intervening five (or so) years between this and their last release, either ye ole drum machine got an upgrade, or the duo figured out what some new knobs and dials did: the clockwork pace is there, but suddenly the drumming is infinitely more varied, allowing for each song to amp itself up in layers that the group’s previous compositions weren’t necessarily structured to explore.

The lyrical concept of retelling Bible passages (in modern parlance, upgraded with some four-letter words) has also encouraged some of the more generic concepts shouted out on prior releases to be grounded to more realized thoughts and themes.  While this edges into cringey at points (‘Moses, what the fuck?’), on the whole, it overall results in something very volatile and powerful and darkly humored.

The group goes for a quiet-to-loud shift on ‘Numbers 31:13–18‘ that I think holds on to its pause too long to really stick the landing, but elsewhere, when things are dialed up sufficiently throughout – only to somehow dial up further as the track goes on – the album exceeds expectations, and offers up some many surprising variations on The Austerity Program theme that it stands up to multiple relistens, back to back (something that the aggressive pummeling from before sometimes prevented).

Bonus points for some amazing packaging – a die-cut cover showcasing a Gustave Doré image, with a full lyric sheet insert and a hype sticker proclaiming: “All The Wrath Of God – None Of The Salvation.”