Nothing polite here. Nothing neat. HolyRoller don’t bother with tidy riffs or clean choruses – they deal in dirt, fuzz, and the kind of riffs that crawl under your skin and stay there. Rat King hits like a fuse lit in a basement; you don’t just listen, you get shoved into it.
The record thrums with a push-pull between groove and weight. Doom riffs hit like sledgehammers, but somehow you’re humming along, shaking your head in time anyway. That’s the trick: it’s punishing and fun at once.
Adam Cody’s voice isn’t there to soothe. He snarls, wails, and confesses everything from addiction to suicidal thoughts, atheism, and surviving the grind of the scene. These aren’t “relatable” lines for clicks – they’re raw, human truths, spit over pounding drums and crushing guitars.
HolyRoller’s sound mixes stoner rock, sludge, and punk sneer. You hear nods to COC, Red Fang, The Sword – but they never sound like copycats. The triple-guitar assault is wide and heavy without feeling overdone; it’s exactly what these songs needed.
Rat King isn’t for everyone. It’s for people who like their music rough, honest, and loud. You won’t find polish here, and that’s the point. This is basement music, barroom music, music you sweat with.
The album’s title? Rats tangled together, forced to move as one. That’s the record, too: four people, tight and messy, making something bigger than themselves. Light up, turn it up, let it drag you through the noise.
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Released by Ripple Music on June 6th, 2025
