Album Review: Head Like A Hole, Blood Will Out

Album cover for 'Blood Will Out'. Photo / Supplied

Back in the 90s when local rock music was dangerous, Head Like A Hole were the most dangerous of all - and early on they did it naked.

After a handful of albums, the odd gonzo rock tune, and hundreds of live shows, it ended in a drug-fuelled mess in 2000.

But they got back together in 2008, and as Blood Will Out shows they are more dangerous than ever (although thankfully fully clothed).

The album ruthlessly twists, chugs, and rumbles as it moves from the unhinged riffing and rabid mantra of Valhalla (10,000BC), on to the monstrous eight-minute Sabbathesque slab of Death of A Friend, and then off into the fuzzy surf guitar frenzy of Human Race with the delighfully devilish line, "I'm gonna kick you in the teeth, I'm gonna stomp on your face, it's a beautiful day in the human race."

Monsta-X (the first of a Monsta trilogy of tracks) is most disturbing; Booga Beazley is at his troll-like best with a barrage of mongrel riffs over the top, and although Glory Glory - the most reckless beer drinking anthem in the world ever - is riddled with cliches, Beazley coughs them up with such venom that they take on a new, more harrowing meaning.

While many of the songs deal with drug addiction (Hardest Battle (Monsta-Y)) and finding yourself, there's not one self-pitying, chip-on-your-shoulder moment on the record.

Blood Will Out is potent, fun, and dangerous.

Stars: 3.5/5
Verdict: The sound of danger. But fun too
Buy Blood Will Out

- TimeOut