As 2017—aka the Year of the Cloud Rat—marches on and the horrors all around us continue to intensify, aggressive, cathartic music remains one of the few things we can count on to provide an escape. The US-Midwestern grind sweethearts in Cloud Rat are well aware of the necessity of creation during the darkest of days, and have lined up a shit-hot bevy of releases for 2017. Just out: a new split with Dutch/German powerviolence punks Crevasse.

I've really been enjoying the way the band has been toying with unexpected sounds and whole new genres on their recent releases, from the synth goth vibe of Amber Flush to the appearance of their surprisingly melodic, riot grrrl-tinged, clean sung cover of Electric Deads' number "Fish in a Pool" on this new split with Crevasse. Cloud Rat has never stuck to a singular sound, but it's still a delight to see them stretch their legs a bit and kick down a few new walls.

Crevasse, on the other hand, are sworn to a particularly pummeling blend of hardcore, powerviolence, d-beat, and doom that treads heavily, and only takes two or three minutes to pack a serous wallop. The Dutch/German transnational quartet channel their fury into bite-sized chunks of metallic, filthy shrapnel that fit perfectly alongside Cloud Rat's grinding rat-a-tats resulting in wonderfully complementary and wholly uncompromising pairing.

Listen: → Stream (External Website)