GAMA BOMB

Speed Between The Lines AFM Northern Irish thrashers rustle up more killer riffs

They’ve never been the most serious band (although blessedly nowhere near as silly as piratical loons Alestorm), but Northern Ireland’s Gama Bomb have been the UK’s most consistent contributors to the modern thrash revival. Their sixth album mixes the genre’s chief hallmarks of frantic speed and social commentary with, as you can ascertain from the title, a wry sense of humour, most notable on a song about Kurt Russel. Philly Byrne’s vocal histrionics on Rob halford-worshipping opener Give Me Leather and 666teen underline the band’s knack for fusing infectious riffs with pelting tempos, while the choruses of Stay Rotten, Motorgeist and R.I.P. U will crash straight into the cranium and kick up a fuss before leaving. With Domo Dixon’s drums kicking like a bastard there’s barely a chance to catch your breath or to question whether what you’ve just heard is genius or juvenile . And yes, Kurt Russell itself is brilliantly daft. FOR FANS OF: BONDED BY BLOOD, TOXIC HOLOCAUST, MUNICIPAL WASTE