The molten-hot nihilistic sludge of Melbourne, Australia’s Gentlemen is not for the faint of heart. They’ve been making abrasive, apocalyptic mutant crud-punk since 2012, when they released Sex Tape, a terrifyingly addictive noisefest that introduced their distinct gray vision of humanity. With their new 7″- out now on Jeth-Row Records– Gentlemen decide to take their sound into slightly more pop-influenced territory, but still remain a rabid and vicious beast of a band.

“Cholera” starts abruptly with a heavy distorted bass line and quickly the band storms in. The cymbal crashes become an ocean of noise as the tortured cries of their singer fight against the drowning claustrophobia of the unrelenting aggro-punk assault. Despite the harsh atmosphere, it’s almost catchy in its spit-drenched rocking assertiveness. Swaths of screeching reverb’ed feedback bring the track to its end. Insanely shrill metallic guitars introduce “Eastern Hate,” sounding like grimy buzzsaws run amok over a d-beat rhythm. It’s a quick lesson in redline catharsis. “(Follow the) Pink Spider” brings a demented Pixies pop sensibility to the mix, combining an upbeat surf-y rhythm with a simple and catchy noisy rock riff, the mysterious manic vocalist choking his last words out as the song climaxes in an adequately turbulent fury.

Gentlemen are a beautiful, tortured hulking post-punk monster, foaming at the mouth and barely confined to the speakers that they push at with an insatiable hunger. Hopefully they set their sights on the US soon.