Showing off the punky, crossover side of death/grind, Bolt Action started as a one-man unit and soon added personnel to help create their brand of galloping brutality. Just their second album, Animalian Retribution is in the band's words, "not anti-carnivore ... anti-animal cruelty". And it's a compelling argument in favour, caustic punky snarls mixing with deeper death grunts atop a musical mix that's close to old-school Terrorizer, with often quite catchy riffing. It's not especially original but it is well-played and the band do enough to make songs distinct from each other rather than incomprehensible bursts of noise.

There is plenty of noise, of course, yet the way that, say, the sub-minute Man's Best Feed packs in plenty of riffing and tempo twists before being followed by the thrashier Cut the Chase makes the album flow smoothly. And spots of near-experimentation like the oddly blackened opening to Breed, Raise, Kill sit well alongside punkier cuts like Bullshit or the slower-paced Seven Deadly Fins which approaches sludge pacing at points before ending in a wild torrent of blasting. As ever with this kind of thing everyone will have their own favourites but the longer songs here, like the two minute nine second Master of Hounds and the three minute closing title track, have just that bit of extra room to develop and mix in bursts of black metal-esque yowling particularly well.

The crusty battery of Catastrophy and the more death metal-flavoured Fried and Tested make a fine duo, too, yet it's in the band's favour that there's nothing skippable or any notably weaker material here. The songs always manage to throw in a curveball riff change or interestingly intense vocal line - and said recent addition to the band's vocal ranks, one Grandfather Nebulous, has the ideal punk voice that mixes comprehensibility with passion and enough snarling grit to lead the band's batterings. Passion will elevate even the most pedestrian material; Bolt Action have both belief in their message and a beyond solid set of songs, and so are very much recommended to fans of animals and underground metal. A welcome addition to the UK grind scene, the aim is apparently to expand the band membership further and take Bolt Action's sound and message on live tour. Here's to the pit action that will result!