Ben Wood Inferno - Real Thing [Sumo Rex 016]

Roughly two years after "Wilder Wilder Faster Faster", the previous album by the band named Ben Wood Inferno, sat in our postbox we see the band making a return to the Sumo Rex label with their new full length joint that is the "Real Thing", another straightforward, no compromise album piece that's stretched over the course of roughly 40 minutes. And it's the album opener "Button Down & Go" which sets the tone for things to come, immediately making sure that Ben Wood Inferno are sticking straight to their guns with a punching, raw garage-y Rock'n'Roll vibe whilst the follow up "Get Wild" weighs in a certain slack in fusing heavy Blues vibes and echoes of Proto Heavy Metal oozing the smell of oil, dust, beer and tuned cars from every note before "Howl" brings forth more raw, untamed Rock energy and dirty solos whereas "Hurts So Good" smashes dancefloors with its uptempo, rough and stripped down vibe. "Gettin' Outta Here" literally means riding a steam-driven, marching BluesRock train, "Never Enough (Herman)" is another captivating dancefloor filler with a rebellious attitude and "Unreal" tells musical tales of pain, desolation, heartbreak as well as loads of not necessarily sober night outs and a certain madness induced by a hard life on the road, travelling a mad, mad world. With "All That Fall" the band even explores a bit of Psychedelic Rock in fusion with their trademark Blues-informed sound, "Either Act Or Forget" is a high octane early HardRock update for 2k19 causing havoc and bar fights whenever this is played out whilst the final cut "Set It On Fire" waves goodbye in a proper big time stadium anthem manner, implementing thoughts of riot and rebellion in the youth of today... and for a good reason maybe. Check.