Beastmaker ‘You Must Sin’ 7″ 2016

Everyone loves a cheeky seven incher or two, right? We know our favourite vinyl-junkie friends at Rise Above certainly do, especially when there’s a brand new, yet sepia photo-ed, amp-cackling, groove-riding band to go with it and in Fresno, California’s Beastmaker, they’ve found just the tonic.

Teasing us here with just two tracks of cackling cult-worshipping proto doom before the 2016 release of their first full debut LP Lusus Naturae, Beastmaker introduce themselves to us with a Witchfinder General patch on one sleeve, a Venom badge on their lapel and a copy of Master Of Reality resting snuggly in their laps. The feature track You Must Sin combines the forceful riffery of early Trouble and Pentagram to the bleak uncertainty and Lucifer-hailing of Reverend Bizarre. Fans of Serpent Venom and Iron Void should prick their ears up and sniff this one out as Trevor William Church’s morbid and mournful guitar harmonies and stiff Sabbathy riffage propel this power trio onwards, backed by the wall-solid thumping of Juan Bonham (nice!) behind the kit. Mr Church’s backhanded, eerily warbling vocals give Beastmaker a darkness to their otherwise in-yer-face bombast as they urge you to sin your soul down the drain in favour of the great horned one.

B-side I Am Watching is a shorter cut that sounds like Count Raven trying to play through Satan’s Satyrs amp set-up. Church’s squealing leads and crunching riffs are slammed through the speakers behind John Tucker’s righteous bass tone and a drum performance from Juan that should frankly be evidence in a GBH trial.

Heads will be banged and claws will surely be lofted high and true as Beastmaker make their European live debut this coming year at Roadburn, Desertfest and on tour with the doom royalty aboard new entity With The Dead. In the meantime, wrap your chops around this sinful seven inches as you await Rise Above’s new makers of the beast.

Label: Rise Above Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp

Scribed by: Pete Green