Metallurgy

Pledging fealty to Seventies proto-metal, German power trio Kadavar's eponymous debut made for retro pleasure. Abra Kadavar, past its groan-inducing title, sounds more fired up and inspired, vibrating with barely-contained vigor. Sonics remain mired in the Me Decade, but the stomping "Doomsday Machine," acid-addled "Liquid Dream," and hellraising opener "Come Back Life" eat sparks and spit lightning. Closer "The Man I Shot" rolls all of Kadavar's tricks into a ball of supremely badass rock & roll.