“Black n’ Roll.” Just saying it leaves a foul taste in my mouth. It’s one of those genre tags that gets thrown around too easily — a Frankenstein phrase that, when misused, makes me want to yeet my headphones across the room. But here’s the thing: if you see Bitter Lucid Truth by Valletta described that way, don’t make my usual mistake and turn away, because this isn’t “Black n’ Roll” in the shitty, watered-down, bar-band-with-corpse-paint sense. This is hard, angry, stomping Heavy Metal that comes at you like a sledgehammer wrapped in barbed wire and gasoline-soaked rage.
Across its five tracks, Bitter Lucid Truth is an explosion of raw aggression and conviction. It’s less about genre purity and more about emotion as weaponry. Every riff feels like it’s been dragged through the mud and sharpened against a concrete wall. The guitars chug, snarl, and slam like they’re picking a fight with your skull, while the drums pound with the precision and power of a street brawl at closing time. This isn’t slick, shiny, radio-ready Metal — this is Metal that smells of sweat, rust, and regret.
Guitarist and singer Keenan Carroll deserves particular mention. His voice sits right in that glorious pocket between hardcore venom and blackened torment — the kind of vocals that don’t just sound angry, but feel like they’re tearing something loose from deep inside. There’s grit, there’s pain, and there’s an authenticity that a thousand Pro Tools filters could never replicate. He sounds like he means every single word, and that’s what makes it hit so fucking hard.
Now, about that supposed “Black” element — it’s there, but it’s more like a whisper of the void than a full descent into the abyss. The final track, Spitting the Word, unleashes a barrage of blast-beats wjen the track requires that nod to the blackened realms without ever losing Valletta’s core identity. It’s like the darkness seeped in through a cracked window — just enough to taint the light, not enough to extinguish it.
What Bitter Lucid Truth truly excels at is balance. It doesn’t get lost in trying to be too clever or genre-defying. It’s metal with purpose — written by people who clearly love the craft but aren’t afraid to inject their own venomous spirit into it. There’s a grit and a groove to these songs that channels the energy of punk, the ferocity of hardcore, and the dark heart of traditional metal. It’s chaotic, cathartic, and deeply fucking human.
Bitter Lucid Truth by Valletta is out now via Lifeforce Records.
CHOICE CUT: Cold Death
BLACK METAL ARCHIVES VERDICT: Forget the “Black n’ Roll” label — Bitter Lucid Truth is a fistful of bloodied knuckles and broken teeth, a hard-hitting, riff-laden sermon from the church of rage. Valletta have delivered something dark, defiant, and deeply satisfying.
