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 16^th. 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.