It’ll always be a wonder to me why A Wilhelm Scream are not more of a household name than they are.  While I haven’t been around since the Smackin’ Isaiah days, I did get in on the ground floor of Mute Print, and I’ve loved their technical and highly flashy take on melodic hardcore ever since then.  Cheap Heat marks over a quarter century that these guys have been staying their own personal course, and when a band does consistency as well as A Wilhelm Scream does, the question is always “how do they continually top themselves?”  Well, maybe A Wilhelm Scream doesn’t need to, but maybe they also somehow manage to anyway.

“This record, and the process of recording it, are both a testament to and a celebration of the firepower and dedication our band has for our music.  It has vitriolic energy behind every vocal, soaring guitars relentlessly shredding, and that sinister tongue in cheek shit we specialize in.  This will go down as our best work to date.  Guaranteed,” says vocalist Nuno Pereira.  That’s a hefty promise, but A Wilhelm Scream are a band that delivers, and here they absolutely keep that up.  Cheap Heat is an amalgamation of everything that makes the Massachusetts quintet a staple on the scene: dark, aggressive energy and lyrics reminiscent of their Ruiner era, technicality and ferocity à la Career Suicide and the melodicism and raucous energy of Mute Print.  Lyrically, the ten tracks that make up the album are presented as vignettes exploring the darker side of humanity, with a focus on sociopathy, personality disorders, evil and the band’s distinctive “sore winner who refuses to lose” attitude.  Also, and not for nothing, Cheap Heat marks the debut of new second guitarist Ben Murray, whose talent helped light a fire under the band to write and record their absolute best effort, all of which was lovingly captured and produced by co-vocalist and guitarist Trevor Reilly in the band’s hometown of New Bedford.  Hell, the mastering was even done by Trevor’s dad, making Cheap Heat a true family affair.

“Somebody’s Gonna Die” opens the album with a righteous bang and also serves as the perfect primer for people who don’t know what A Wilhelm Scream are all about: frenetic and highly technical guitar tapping, pounding punk rock rhythms, shout-along choruses and an intensity that is immediately infectious.  Even after all these years, the entire band is still firing on all cylinders, and there’s nary a moment of pulled punches or cards held close to the chest; A Wilhelm Scream still put their entire being into their albums, and Cheap Heat is another significant notch in their belt.  Need further proof?  Check out Brian Robinson’s virtuoso bass skills in the hook to “Midnight Ghost”, or the blistering lead work on “Fell Off” and “Run.”, or the ferocity of the drums on “Unsolving the Mystery” and “The Scumbag Grift”, or the way Pereira and Reilly’s voices compliment each other on “I Got Tunnel Vision” and “Let It Ride”.  All of this instrumental prowess and technical accomplishment never comes at the cost of a good melody, though, and that I think is what makes A Wilhelm Scream so special.  Lots of bands can do the technical thing, but very few of them can do it while also crafting the perfect earworm chorus and hook, and there is no shortage of any relatability and accessibility on Cheap Heat.  These are songs that are begging to be put on infinite repeat, with something new to find in them with each new listen.

It might only be February (well, kinda March at this point) but I think I’ve found my personal album of the summer.  Cheap Heat is an album that absolutely begs to be played at full volume, with the windows down and the gas pedal pushed *just a little* too far down.  A band like A Wilhelm Scream comes along only once in a lifetime and even though they’ve been grinding it out for over 25 years, we gotta appreciate them while they’re here.  Cheap Heat will certainly serve as an onboarding for the uninitiated, as well as being exactly what long-time fans are clamoring for.

-Ian

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Cheap Heat is out now on Creator-Destructor Records.  For more information on A Wilhelm Scream, visit their official website.