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Richmond, Virginia's Bat makes it plain they play grimy Speed Metal and look to early Venom for the blueprint. To be honest the two tracks on their Cruel Discipline 7" single sound so much like the NWOBHM veterans that if you told me these were lost tracks from the Welcome to Hell/Black Metal/At War With Satan era I wouldn't blink. Both songs move along at 100 mph, the vocals are a throaty shout, the production is decidedly lo-fi and there is a clear punk attitude to the playing.

I know I enjoy a spot of old Venom every now and again but Bat crosses the line from flattery to imitation regularly so it is hard to get a bead on what they are trying to do. They don't really have anything unique about their sound whatsoever. If that is what they were shooting for then they've succeeded, though I wonder how they'll pad out sounding exactly like another band over a full album. If you like early Venom, especially if you are a vinyl collector, Cruel Discipline is one you'll want to pick up. If early Venom isn't your cup of tea then there's nothing for you here.