Don’t overthink it. Just “keep it simple stupid” as the old saying goes. Not that this music is simple by any means. Here is some history. Boston-based Meliah Rage had a decent run, coupla records released by Epic in the ’90s, but they failed to truly launch, despite being one of the most under-rated bands in metal history. In 2012, Meliah Rage guitarist/songwriter Anthony Nichols and The Bags vocalist/bassist Jon Hardy teamed up with drummer Steve Fry and lead guitarist Dan Dykes to form Mexican Ape-Lord, a back-to-basics traditional metal band, that penetrates deep. Blunt Instrument follows the band’s excellent Survival Cannibalism album (from 2020) and the Burn Pit EP (featuring the brilliant epic "Keep Hammering"), created during Covid when minds were struggling to stay sane. You know how Malcolm Young kept the magic in AC/DC with his masterful rhythm guitar and how Hetfield can keep things so damn heavy in Metallica without putting the pedal to the metal? It’s not always about speed. It’s those “South Of Heaven” moments where you barely make it out alive. That’s Mexican Ape-Lord. Take “Worm Moon”. A total mind fuck. Nichols beautifully down-tuned chords doing battle with the Fry/Dykes backbone. And shit, Jon Hardy is heavy metal Hollywood. Drama to the max with a soaring voice. If you were smart enough to grab the band’s last full length Survival Cannibalism, about the Boon Island, Maine shipwreck in 1710, that was a feast and famine together. So Blunt Instrument is the next stage where emotions are on high, although the band has become a bit more aggressive. The title track track is a steamroller, whereas “Kentucky Meat Shower” is a mosh pit party where you need to keep your head up! “Day Of The Hunt” and “Down The Mine” are pure bruising tracks that leave you breathless. “The Shovel”, an obvious reference to the cover art, enters the room menacing and meandering, while your mind tries to wrap around Hardy’s twisted lyrics. Keep in mind, Survival Cannibalism was actually a hidden reference to the shit-show that is American politics. So god knows what twisted visions this band conjures up with smart as hell hidden references. “Faraday Cage” is the grande finale and you get a sense this isn’t going to end well. That’s the beauty of MAL. By the way, a Faraday cage “is an enclosure used to block some electromagnetic fields.” Who knew? No that’s heavy metal in motion.