Wet Animal have unleashed an impressive debut album. The band was founded in 1995 by guitarist Rick Wartell of heavy metal legends Trouble. The direction of the music is hard rock with a very metal vibe at times which is very revealing on ‘Land Minds’. Listening to some of the brilliant guitar work on this song and the overall heaviness makes me feel like I am standing in the middle of a hurricane. Trouble fans will be all over that track along with ‘Relentless’ which is just as the title states. A relentless attack of heavy fucking metal.

Things slow down a tad on ‘Left Behind’ and I could not help but think of Tesla. This is the only ballad on the album. Vocalist/guitarist Shane Pasqualla really shines on this album. At times his vocals are reminiscent of Ozzy during Sabbath’s early days but not to the point where you would consider him an Ozzy clone. The vocals show influence but are also very unique.

This album was recorded with the band being a three piece. To my best understanding the band now consists of four members. Most albums take a couple listens for me to get into the general vibe and get an overall feel for it. Wet Animal’s debut has captured me from the first listen and has me hooked. Although this is a hard rock album some of this material is just crushing and oozing molten metal. The grooves are heavy, the hooks are tight, and the musicianship overall is very on the money. I would consider this a perfect blend of hard rock, heavy metal, and stoner rock. This is sure to appeal to fans of Black Sabbath, Trouble, Corrosion of Conformity, UFO, Deep Purple, and Blue Oyster Cult.

Unlike many of today’s new bands this one is doing something right and it really shows with this debut. I’m curious to see if they release a follow up.