Italian Stoner metalists, ISAAK, have returned after seven years. Their first words? "Hey." "Hey" is the band's fourth album if you include their release under GHANDI'S GUN, third under the ISAAK moniker. Issued via Heavy Psych Sounds on March 31, 2023, the album is a hard hitting, loud and brash offering that has the urgency of Punk and the groove of Stoner, duly amped and intensified.

The album has a curious kick off with "Miracle B," a faux advertisement of a Gingsu-like knife-and not the actual life Miracle B beauty aid product or the Pokemon character, Mirakle B. Apart from the opening track, Miracle B is never referenced again . . . not even for an outro reprieve-which is fine, but curious. And if the purpose was to spark some conversation, well there you have it, mission complete.

The two distinguishing features of the album are Giacomo Boeddu's clean but bellowing vocals, and the heavy Punk vibe throughout. Production values are a bit saturated which lends to a pervasive analogue vibe, again hearkening to the punk aesthetic. And then there's the cover of "Over the Edge" from the 80's American punk band, WIPERS. Add to that the obvious comparisons of Giacomo Boeddu's vocals to Glenn Danzig (MISFITS) and Joe Wood (TSOL) and, yeah, the punk equation quickly adds up. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing. If you are going to have punk vibes, you want the early 80's version back before the Grunge explosion and the commodification of everything underground.
Looking at the trajectory of ISAAK, "Hey" returns to the angry viscera of "The Longer the Beard, The Harder The Sound" and away from the softer moments of "Sermonize." You can call it a return to roots; a third album course correction; or just-back-from-a-seven-year break, dust-your-boots-off energy. However you want to characterize it, it's good stuff.

Best three tracks in my book are 1) "OBG"-its defiant proclamation of "I know where I'm going / and there's steel inside my heart" is doubly amplified by the vicious riffs; 2) "Over the Edge"-the WIPERS cover reimagined with an epic fusion of Stoner Metal and Hardcore Punk; and 3) "Taste 2.0"-an up-to-date rendering of "Taste" (version 1.0) from their 2019 split with CHRON GOBLIN. There are plenty of other excellent tracks on the album, but if I had to take three to a desert island with me . . .

ISAAK's "Hey" is another installment of the great Stoner revival for 2023. I don't know if that's actually a thing, but I'm officially calling it here. Thank the gods for Heavy Psych Sounds and other defenders of the faith. And, of course, for heavies like ISAAK who keep kicking out the jams in the best way possible, heavy and loud.