Heavy metal, when done properly, makes me want to rip my knackers off and swing them around my head like a wrinkly mace. Crossfaith are a band with the capacity to do this to people.
Their fourth full-length, 'Xeno', offers such moments in abundance. The Japanese metalcore meddlers have built on the monolithic foundations laid by 'Zion' and 'Apocalyze', blending steely riffs with twerkable synth lines. But to pigeonhole Crossfaith is a dangerous game.
Takemura Kazuki's downtuned, gnarled fret-bashing emulates Slipknot in their prime, while Raise Your Voice, Vanguard and the title track all pummel the ears with the chaotic drive usually associated with Iowa's masked madmen.
You'd better hide under a table when that dirty death metal guitar tone runs alongside TamanoTerufumi's keyboards, because people on the street outside will smash your windows, climb inside your house, scissor kick you and start a massive moshpit. It's that good.
Crossfaith's abrasively catchy racket is accentuated by Koie Kenta's clean vocals, which are more prominent than ever. Devil's Party and Ghost In The Mirror both benefit from his soaring voice, proving that this band can make you circle pit, dance and sing along simultaneously.
And then we have Wildfire. Jesus Christ. Featuring Skindred's Benji Webbe, it rocks and rolls like the Mortal Kombat theme tune being played in space by the Prodigy. Webbe spits his lines with that trademark badassery and the tune seamlessly flits from club anthem to Pantera headbanger. You will not sit still when listening to it. This is what rock music should sound like in 2015.
It's not all fun and games, mind. The sappiness of Tears Fall is a little too sugar-coated. It's essentially a ballad and is a tad flat compared to the bombastic nature of the rest of the album. Instrumental closer Astral Heaven exudes a techno stomp akin to Dialogue, but overstays its welcome by about three minutes, while opener System X's pinched synth and strings crescendo into nothingness, leaving Ghost In The Mirror to initially flounder.
Still, 'Xeno' is brimming with bangers. Most of these songs will flick your Neanderthal switch and have you punching small buildings with reckless abandon. The record's uneven bookends cause it to sag a little, but nobody buys a sandwich for the crust, do they? Crossfaith have almost matched 'Apocalyze', incorporated more melody than ever and still posses the rabid, raw edge that made us love them in the first place. Bravo.
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