Ever spilled cider in your beard while smoking a joint and listening to CROWBAR? Well say hello to your new favorite band. HANG THE BASTARD's second full-length album "Sex In The Seventh Circle" is a prime slice of boozed up, groove laden Mega Metal from the scene's filthy underbelly. It's the sound of late night jam sessions in vandalised recording studios, drunken gigs in half empty venues and listening to it is enough to make you feel grubby. Hell, there's probably an entire generation of junkies out there destined to die of overdoses while this plays in the background.

First track "Keeping Vigil" sets the stall early. The guitar riffs are blues-drenched; the vocals rasp and gargle like a strangulated Gollum and the mid-song solo could have been recorded during a drug-induced freak out. "Morrs Tempest" is slightly slower but the reduced pace actually makes it heavier, the methodical power chord slams rumbling through the speakers louder than a Sauropod falling over.

It seems strange then that for years HANG THE BASTARD has been associated with the UK Hardcore scene more than anything else. They've shared stages with the likes of BRUTALITY WILL PREVAIL and their old live videos show plenty of crowd surfing, fist-spinning chaos. They were always more Metal than their contemporaries, but some of the 'core influence has nevertheless seeped in. "Hornfel" has moments of up tempo raging and album highlight "Beyond The Pale" has a seriously catchy call and response chorus at its heart.

For the most part though, "Sex In The Seventh Circle" is all about great big Doom riffs. The hypnotic sweep of "The Majestic Gathering Of Goetia" recalls ELECTRIC WIZARD's Lovecraftian sermonising, while "Mists Of Albion" is a seven-minute trek through bleary-eyed bliss.

Then there's the title track, an absolutely killer slice of primeval grooving full of WINDSTEIN-esque guitar flourishes and down tuned machismo. It briefly fades out into silence before rumbling back out again in the reprieve, recalling the ending to DOWN's classic first album only much nastier and heavier. And just like the record it's named for, "Sex In The Seventh Circle" isn't a pleasant listen, but it's an honest, stripped back love letter from four fans to a genre they love. Turn on, tune in, Sab out.<