Four bars into Beastwar's self-titled debut and it becomes apparent: this is a band whose music must be played loud. And fair enough, too, given it was jammed, honed and recorded that way.
The Wellington quartet's blistering songs have clearly been heard by others, too, resulting in an invitation to support American stoner-rock veterans Kyuss last weekend and celebrated industrial act Helmet next month. It has also performed with Seattle outfit the Melvins and Californian group High On Fire.
With its self-funded, nine-track album receiving favourable reviews on release earlier this month, the band currently possesses that oft-sought industry asset: momentum. Thus singer Matt Hyde is in an upbeat frame of mind when he discusses the project via phone from Wellington earlier this week.
"After the Kyuss show I had a lot of people who I'd not met before come up and tell me they'd bought the album earlier that week and were loving it. You can't help but feel we're touching on something."
Scan the horizon in New Zealand music and Beastwars is in a minority of heavy rock bands, particularly ones playing such stripped-back material.
There are few frills to its debut effort, which focuses less on convoluted lead-guitar breaks and more on the tone and texture of songs. Think the riffery of Black Sabbath meets the dynamics of Soundgarden and you're getting into the right territory (although Hyde prefers a low growl over a high shriek).
Despite the heavy, distorted sounds, Beastwars also boasts a surprising amount of space in its music, offering a respite to its more cathartic moments. It's all part of the plan, Hyde says.
"I believe that heavy music can be accessible. You can use the power of the voice to scream, but if you use it right you can draw people in.
"I have a lot of friends who got into country music and just looking at these old guys and how they delivered the song, the lyrics, the art of it ... I'm just trying to find spaces or gaps where the song can breathe. Once I'm relaxed with that, then it flows."
Comprising Hyde, guitarist Clayton Anderson, bassist James Woods and drummer Nathan Hickey, Beastwars formed about five years ago. For the first two years, the band members would meet, have a few drinks and jam.
"When we started, it was just for us. We were having fun," recalls Hyde. "We did it for ourselves without thinking anything. But when we started playing to people they really enjoyed it.
"Basically, I'm pretty surprised with what has happened. At every stage we've wanted to do our best, but for it to be embraced ... I've been doing music for 20 years and none of it has been embraced, so it's a real surprise.
"I think the best thing about that is you can learn while no-one is looking. There is no school for it ... It is all about seeing how others do it and learning how to do it yourself. It takes time," Hyde says, adding much of his lyricism is inspired by reading newspapers' business pages and the internet and being influenced by what's happening in the wider world.
"I sometimes think music and timing of events is connected. By 2008, with the global financial collapse, I think the good times were over and a harder sound was coming up. There is this massive underground scene all over Wellington playing harder music."
Having built a strong live reputation, Beastwars headed to Dunedin to record its debut album. Why? Dale Cotton, a recording engineer and producer whose credits include HDU, Dimmer and Die!Die!Die! "It happened so fast. We'd done heaps of shows and people kept asking us if we had done a CD," Hyde explains.
"James said 'Well look, Dale Cotton is down in Dunedin'. They are mates. Within two weeks we were in Dunedin. We had a bit of money saved and had five days to do it, so we stayed in Dale's house and slept on the floor of the studio.
"Dale would do things like put me outside at 1am to sing on the street just to get a different sound. He's a genius. It was a lot of fun. When I came back and played it to my wife, she said 'Oh my God - I've got this feeling I'm not going to see much of you this year'."
Given the tight timeframe, there is a palpable live feel to Beastwars' recording effort. That was both intentional and necessary.
"We just had to knock it off," Hyde says. "I suppose because we are all workers - I'm a chef and two of the others are film editors - we understand deadlines. You work really well when you know the end is approaching and you're running out of money. There's no time to muck around.
"We'd work hard in the morning, go out for dinner, then late at night James and Dale would start talking about concepts of sound and effects. It was incredible to watch.
Sometimes we would go to 3am and get into it again at 9am." Released on the band's own imprint, Destroy Records, and distributed by major label Universal, the album is starting to create a fair bit of work for the band, which is self-managed.
That's a good thing, Hyde says, though he points out there are also the demands of careers and families to consider (two members, including Hyde, have children).
"I think it's great. What makes it even better is I'm getting all these people walking up to me and telling me they are loving it. You couldn't ask for more than that. If it ended tomorrow, I've accomplished everything I've set out to do."
Catch them
Beastwars' self-titled album is out now. The band performs at Chick's Hotel tonight with Operation Rolling Thunder and Kahu.
