5 Best Metal Albums Of July 2018
3. Pagan – Black Wash
If it were physically possible to put black metal, disco and ‘70s punk into a blender, then the ultimate product of that insane audial concoction would be Pagan, who arrived in a unifying blaze last month with their lush debut, Black Wash.
The best way to encapsulate Pagan’s frenetic and diverse approach is to imagine Larissa Stupar (shouter-in-chief for the gloriously rowdy Venom Prison) fronting the Sex Pistols during a show at Studio 64. The lively quartet bring a universally identifiable originality to extreme music with the nostalgia-inducing riffing of Xavier Santilli and the living juxtaposition that is frontwoman Nikki Brumen: despite her continually intense, hardcore-tinged screams, she is most often seen happily dancing away while onstage.
Through its cavalcade of frenetic yet oddly catchy anthems, Black Wash crafts an atmosphere of apocalyptic, metallic punk that, with a hugely upped dose of adrenaline, returns the genre to the good ol’ days of danger and anarchy that it enjoyed before pop names like Good Charlotte and Blink 182 came along and f—ked it all up.
Whether you’re a metalhead, punk, emo or somewhere in between, Pagan have created an inclusive haven with their rousing first step.
Take a seat and grab a drink, because this party’s for everyone, and it’s only just begun…