We’re all on a journey somewhere, and that doesn’t have to necessarily be physical, though many people constantly are moving spaces as well. We’re also in the midst of existential excursions, our pathway through our lives, our works, our relationships, and ultimately to our demise, and everyone’s is unique to their own psyche.

English crushers Bossk (yeah, named after the bounty hunter) have prepared a soundtrack for you in case you need something to highlight your trip from your origin to where you ultimately end up. “Migration” is their second record, and it’s a mighty, atmospheric, mind-expanding collection that can be volcanic one minute, completely immersed in stardust the next. The band—vocalist Sam Marsh, guitarists Alex Hamilton and Rob Vaughan, bassist Tom Begley, drummer Nick Corney—unloads over these seven tracks and nearly 42 minutes a sonic display that is varied, keeps surprising you, and also delivers thunderous power, even when they’re not destroying your senses.

“White Stork” simmers in sound as noise waves waft, and spacious stretching is dressed with electro zaps, ambient haze, and pulsating bursts. Wood block strikes echo, everything builds into a lather, and then we’re into “Mehir” that has sludgy power breaking out of an eerie glaze. The track pulverizes with monstrous growls pounding, the band creating atmospheric chaos, and lava spilling before things ease into calm. That washes through moody power as the guitars feel like they’re bathing in the cosmos, the shrieks rain down, and the track ends in burly hell. “Iter” is a quick instrumental track that has noise making your spine shiver, a strange aura settles, and the playing stings as “HTV-3” dawns in strange synth and murky haze. The vocals then explode, the chorus feels like it’s going to level worlds, and then we’re back into the clouds as the track feels overcast. A new stormfront arrives, crackling open as clean calls bellow, and the doom coats the ground with tar. The track soars again as the band levels you with sludge, the synth swirls like a dangerous storm, and the drama builds, swallowed whole by a dramatic burst that lets everything bleed out.

“Kibo” is another instrumental cut that helps set the stage as synth waves and alien transmissions take hold. Guitars gently lap, noise trickles, and your head floods, moving toward “Lira” that slowly charges and has a glorious build. The band begins to rip out guts and pile them up on the floor, the music swelters, and the drums come to life, taking apart bone. It feels like a radio transmission working their way in, heaving and destroying, absolutely punishing your psyche. Heavy blows rain down like nails, an electric haze sizzles, and the track zaps into the black. “Unberth” closes the album, letting sounds build up and guitars crackle as the sounds envelope everything. The music jolts, the leads gush with energy, and the moodiness thickens even further, overwhelming you. The synth rises, it feels like your head is being squeezed, and the sounds hurtle into space, leaving you enthralled and exhausted.

Bossk have an intensity and might that a lot of other bands that work in this sound don’t seem to be able to muster. It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the band, but “Migration” is a fantastic rekindling of spirits that haven’t been together in a while, and every moment of this just levels you with intensity. This is an awesome display, a reminder that Bossk have some of the best chops in the game and a muscular character that easily can leave you overwhelmed.  

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/bosskonline

To buy the album, go here: https://deathwishinc.com/collections/bossk

For more on the label, go here: https://deathwishinc.com/