Back in 2008 former members of kiwi favourites The Have, Cold By Winter, False Start, So To Speak and Los Muertos banded together to become Snakes Of Iron. These five guys might look like a pack of hairy denim and plaid wearing day-labourers but what is most important is exactly how hard they rock together. Fortunately the answer is a lot. The rock, punk, pop, and metal backgrounds of the individual members blend together into a high-adrenaline concoction of howling riffs, raw screams, and driving rock and roll gusto laden with rusty but effective hooks. The band's profile has been aided in no small way by gigging around the country with the likes of Beastwars, Antagonist AD, Cobra Khan, and many more besides. Scavengers is their second EP and it is a swift seventeen minutes of no-bullshit hard rocking bluster with the chops to match.
“Monsters Eyes” is a big, open-handed slap to the face right out of the speakers. Are you awake? Are you ready? You had better be. In not even three minutes the band have crafted one hell of a raging rocker that is a definitive statement of intent – stand back because Snakes Of Iron are coming through! Do you feel like you need to catch your breath? Too bad because “Make It On Your Own” comes charging in right behind it and the rest of the album follows suit. This EP has no lulls so get used to it or go home. Singer Leon Hall keeps proceedings moving along at a furious pace with his vein-popping impassioned howls.
Album closer “Safety in Numbness” rides a fuzzed out Queens of the Stone Age style bassline before exploding in a fireball of metal-tinged hardcore riffs and cut-throat aggression. I cannot remember the last time that an EP has been this focused from start to finish. There is not an ounce of deception here: you came to hear shit-kicking rock music and that is exactly what you are going to receive. Scavengers is fun, feral, grotty, and downright infectious in all the right ways. Lock up your daughters, sons, grandparents, and liquor cabinets; Snakes of Iron are on the loose!
