While it’s always a great time for someone like me to lose myself in the many different branches that metal has to offer with its sprawling underground and endless experimentation, there’s nothing that can compare to a straightforward listening experience that knows how to get itself across simply but effectively. That has been a key point in the heavy and thrash-centric genres for decades now, and why would you need to change something that has worked virtually from the very beginning? It’s a tried and true concept that still manages to bring forth plenty of worthy, interesting, and vastly entertaining acts over the years, and it’s with their latest release that Böne proves themselves to effortlessly be one such act with their eponymous debut.

Whenever we’re dealing with efforts of this variety, it’s not hard for the band in question to slip and accidentally stumble over at least one factor that would lead to their performance becoming something that listeners lose themselves in, for when you see the formula done so spectacularly well before over and over again, you tend to only hone in on the exceptional creations. In virtually every way, it should be the very essence that’s brought to the table with their debut that Böne should instantly have any curious listener gravitate further into their debut album for all that it accomplishes despite being the band’s first. Already, the band has an on-stage presence that has become a staple of their reputation, as sources tell me, and it’s clear just by listening to the eight tracks that are brought forth here that the energy is not lacking in the studio as Böne manages to deliver a sound that’s as fun, frenetic, and captivating as we could ask for given the circumstances even as it’s clear that this act still has a ways to go before becoming truly great. Alongside all of that, it’s the simplicity of just delivering metal that can’t be quantified as anything else that really helps drive forth this performance to something that we can really sink our teeth into. Böne never once concerns itself by trying to fall strictly within the boundaries of heavy metal or thrash or trying to emulate their influences to an almost boring degree. Rather, this is what happens when five talented guys get together with the capacity to vibe and make riffs that compelling with a fitting edge to match. In its purest form, that’s all that this record is and I wouldn’t change that for anything.

This is what happens when all the right circumstances come together to make for an experience that never once worries itself by being more than it has to be. Böne knew precisely what they wanted straight from the moment the band came into being four years ago, and the very fruits of the band’s labors and love are clear to anyone who would step even one foot into this debut. All the hallmarks of a damn good time are present throughout all that Böne has brought to the table here, and I truly can’t wait to see how this act will grow into a tour de force of modern metal done right.

LISTEN to “Böne” on Spotify here.

LIKE Böne on Facebook here.