Album Review: Pulverise – Chaos Games

One of the joys of covering the live shows across the North West of the UK is discovering a new band that just blow you away, that was my experience last month when I unexpectedly caught the album release show for Chaos Games, where my first impression of Pulverise was to witness them damn near stealing the show from the headline act. Whilst there’s no question as to Pulverise‘s live credentials, the question is whether Chaos Games can match the intensity and energy of their live show on their self titled debut full length, the short answer to that question is yes, keep reading for the longer answer.

Chaos Games is an album captures the infectious energy of their live shows perfectly, from the grinding heavy opener of Fooled You, a track that distills the essence of hardcore, rock and hip hop to produce their own self styled hybrid, patrycore. The album’s first hit slips seamlessly into Slam Time and from here on in every track carries a fuck you attitude and some of the heaviest riffs I’ve heard this year, including my personal favourite Kittens And Unicorns, a track that is is unexpectedly one of the finest fuck you moments I’ve heard this year. Of there are going to be comparisons, it’s undeniable that there is a distinct influence from Rage Against The Machine contained in Chaos Games massive grooves, but is that is a bad thing? It isn’t my book and I can guarantee that fans of that band will adore this album.

Chaos Games is an album carries the heavy riffs of crossover and the attitude of hardcore and matches it with the bounce of Cypress Hill and House Of Pain to create a stunning debut album. Pulverise have now revealed a series of UK tour dates to celebrate the release of the album, my advice would be to pick up a copy of this album, catch them live as soon as you can and join in with the Chaos Games.

Chaos Games can be streamed and purchased via Bandcamp here