This was always going to be a comedown album. After their career-defining moment, 2010’s Meridional, the smart money was that the follow-up would be pared-down.
Sweden’s black metal hellions Watain have been on a fearsome tear. The Wild Hunt finds them expanding their ambition with ballads and other left turns.
SMP delivers “Metal Madness” with metal aggression (and a delightfully wanky guitar solo) over a dance/industrial skeleton, along the lines of Rammstein.