As if there wasn't enough financial stress on the world at the moment, STEAK comes along and now I have to buy a back catalogue of six albums. I mean who is this band with, let's admit it, a terrible name but with a sound that is so f*ing immense? And with a catalogue of, let's count them, three full lengths, two EPs, and one split. Excuse me while I crawl out from under this rock that I've clearly been living under.

So STEAK is a foursome Stoner band out of London. You won't find them in Metal Archives because they have been under the same rock as me or maybe they don't consider STEAK to be Metal enough. With that said, you will find them on Riffipedia. If you need a 'sounds like,' ALL THEM WITCHES is probably the closest along with HOWLING GIANT and SERGEANT THUNDERHOOF. Adjacent bands might be KING BUFFALO, UFOMAMMUT or HAZEMAZE but with STEAK having much better vocals. Their latest album, "Acute Mania," was released on April 1, 2022 via Ripple Music. The album is flat out incredible. All eight tracks, every last minute . . . just utterly fantastic.

And because I guess the musical medium isn't enough to capture the greatness of this band, the release of the album corresponds with the release of a short film "Mad Lord - Samurai of 1000 Deaths" (directed by Samuel Smith, staring Gana Bayarsaikhan, music via STEAK) and a 26-page comic book (written by Samuel Smith, illustrated by Rhys Wootton, concept by Reece Tee) issued with the album. So yeah, boogie on over to bandcamp and get your credit card ready because shipping costs be damned, no matter where you are in the world you need to be buying up some STEAK merch.

The album features guest vocal appearances by Chantal Brown (VODUN) and Tom Cameron (ex-CRYSTAL HEAD). Standout tracks are 1 - 8, but if you held a katana to my neck and insisted I pick my top three, I'd go with "Wolves" simply because it is the first track and my first exposure to this incredible band; "Mono" because Chantal's vocal addition just takes this track to a whole different level; and "Last Days" because of the Jim Morrison vibe mixed with the blood and spit of primal Metal and the groove from a crossroads deal gone wrong. And then I'd risk getting my head severed by said katana and add "Frequencies" for its Cosmic Sludge leanings and its visceral break at the 2:35 mark.

As I've researched STEAK while writing this review, I've discovered several things: 1) A lot of people love the name STEAK. Go figure. 2) I have obviously spent way too much time wandering around the Black Metal hellscape. Gotta get out more. 3) Metal will never let you down. What a blast it is to find a band like STEAK. It's like discovering a fistful of cash in some jeans you haven't worn forever-the joy of finding it outweighs the remorse of having lost it in the first place. While I'm bummed to have missed out on STEAK since, what?, 2012, I am thrilled to have found them now.