There’s really no sense in trying to rattle off all of the influences Chicago’s Yakuza bring to the table. If you’re already familiar with them, you know what I mean. Yakuza is unmistakably a heavy metal band, but there are shades of prog, avant-jazz, and world music in the mix as well. It’s probably best to just refer to them as avant-garde metal and leave it at that. Regardless of what label you choose for them, you need to add Beyul to your metal arsenal when it’s released on October 16th. Yakuza have truly outdone themselves here. Rumbling bass, grinding guitars, jazzy drums, and Bruce Lamont’s ever present saxophone and howled vocals swirl and merge into a tribal, sludgy avant-metal morass. I’d address some songs specifically, but the whole album flows so perfectly it’d be heresy to separate the individual works from the whole – Beyul is an album you should experience from beginning to end. So start saving your pennies now, kids, because you’re going to want this one.