Destroyer

Since emerging from a cloud of weed smoke in the mid-2000s, Vancouver riffmongers Black Mountain have been gradually setting the controls for the heart of the ’80s—namely an ’80s where heavy metal and classic synth-pop peacefully coexist. *Destroyer*—named for bandleader Stephen McBean’s preferred model of Dodge, not the classic 1976 Kiss LP—continues the process of cross-wiring Black Mountain’s monstrous boogie grooves and neon keyboard textures. The electro-shocked rocker “Future Shade,” the asphalt-ripping “Licensed to Drive,” and the hypnotic, hammering epic “High Rise” conjure video-arcade visions of an old *TRON* game being manhandled by a hesher with a Judas Priest patch on his faded jean jacket. But *Destroyer* also reaffirms that this band can be just as deadly at quieter volumes, as they descend into the string-swirled goth-psych phantasmagoria of “Pretty Little Lazies” and the dystopian sci-fi-soundtrack chill of “Closer to the Edge.”

Reinvigorated with a whole host of new members, the metal outfit prove there's plenty of life left in their road-trip rock.

First gear, change is inevitable. Founding drummer Joshua Wells and singer Amber Webber left Black Mountain after the return to form that wa...

'Destroyer' by Black Mountain, album review by Adam Williams. The full-length is now available via Dine Alone Records/Jagjaguwar