Album Review: Twelve Foot Ninja - 'Vengeance'

In the five and a bit years since Melbourne metal fusers Twelve Foot Ninja released a new album, Trump has been and gone as the 45th president of the United States, Game of Thrones came to a mostly dissatisfying end, and a global pandemic continues to rattle reality as we hurtle towards the end of 2021. But before this year wraps up, Twelve Foot's third studio album Vengeance is ready to kickstart a whole new sonic chapter, complete with some graphic and high fantasy novels to level up the true ninja experience.

With 2016's Outlier cementing the group's lust for genre rule-breaking and beautiful chaos, the lead up to Vengeance has been lined with some stealthy releases, including a pensive collab with the inimitable Tatiana Schmayluk from Ukrainian metal quartet Jinjer that unleashed in September. But does absence make the heart grow fonder for this latest outing from Twelve Foot Ninja? If you're a fan of modern metalcore, slick production and just the right amount of unorthodox musical shenanigans: step inside Vengeance and feel the full power of Twelve Foot Ninja's fusion licks.

All the hallmarks of a Twelve Foot Ninja release lie in wait on Vengeance alongside some fresh additions, from the prog-meets-electronic menace of opening track Start The Fire, to intermittent Latin flavours amongst brutality (Long Way Home), modern fuzz (title track Vengeance) and the sonic equivalent of Mike Patton hosting a gaudy game-show on the upbeat blast that is IDK.

While many over the years have attempted to categorise or define the spine of the Twelve Foot Ninja sound, tracks like the aptly named Shock To The System and the dance-tastic Gone instantly shatter any resounding sentiment that the Melbourne gents are simply a 'heavy metal' or 'rock' band, even though there are undeniable moments of snarling riffs and bleating breakdowns. No genre or subgenre is safe when Twelve Foot Ninja are in the room, and between the creamy vocal stylings of frontman Kin Etik, axe-wielding wizardry from guitarist Stevic and the almighty rhythmic might of bassist Ro and drummer Russ, the eclectic concoction works in places that would, in many other hands, fail significantly.

Standout track Culture War flexes every ounce of the Twelve Foot Ninja arsenal, with a Mariachi-esque interlude slotted between pure savagery, before Dead End kicks up the fluctuating stomp to lead into the scintillating Over And Out. Elegantly fusing Jinjer powerhouse vocalist Tatiana Schmayluk with bewitching melodics and an invigorating look into mortality, Over And Out brings back at times some familiar stylistic elements from 2016's Outlier before building into a bombastic conclusion and, ultimately, giving way to closing track Tangled, complete with some acoustic and sweeping string-laden beauty.

Twelve Foot Ninja have undoubtedly been honing, sharpening and galvanizing their trademark sound in the 5+ years it's taken to bring Vengeance to fruition, with Vengeance proudly showcasing a band hell-bent on evolution while staying true to the spirit of their sonic psyche. Like a clandestine mercenary erupting into battle in swift and prismatic fashion, Vengeance resoundingly presents a band willing to take daring risks and stray beyond the pack, settling the score once and for all that Twelve Foot Ninja are still one of the country's most invigorating bands no matter what genre(s) they turn their deft hands to.

Vengeance is due out Friday 15 October via Volkanik Records, with a fantasy novel and comic to accompany the new release. For more information, head here.