Album Review: Frankenbok - Vicious, Lawless

Perhaps formerly among the most derided of Aussie metal acts, Frankenbok have ignored the sniping and noisily plied their trade for 20 years.

Only a couple of original members remain, however, the Melburnians' modus operandi (hard-hitting grooves, a sizeable leaning towards thrash and occasionally death metal) packs a sonic gut-punch. Some tracks struggle to differentiate themselves from one another and Vicious, Lawless proves a few genuinely incisive hooks shy. Overall the album's done and dusted in just 34 aggressive minutes, thus, a track like Fuck Off Or Destroy's as subtle as the title suggests. Ugly, bare-knuckled fare with zero pretension, the 'Bok can still rock.