Skip to content
After four long years, four idiots from Norfolk, VA present the world with a follow up to their 2019 EP in form of a 12". BATO delivers 10 tracks of, you guessed it, 80's inspired US Hardcore. IT'S REAL FAST. IT'S REAL FRESH.
Our take: The wider world last heard from Bato on their 2019 7” Ravages of Time, but those of us who have seen the band live in the intervening five years knew they were brewing up something special for their long-planned debut LP. Now Human Cancer is out, and it’s ready to melt faces. Arriving via Norfolk’s prolific Not for the Weak Records, Bato shares a member with their label-mates Reckoning Force, and fans of that band will recognize guitarist Jordan Greenough’s lightning-fast, ultra-precise riffing right away. Also like Reckoning Force, Bato boasts a member of Socialcide (Bato has Socialcide’s drummer, while Reckoning Force features their bassist). If you’re one of the smart folks who has been snapping up every Not for the Weak Records release as it comes out, you’re going to love Bato, as the ultra-fast, musically dense hardcore punk that is that label’s trademark forms the foundation of their sound. Human Cancer can feel relentless on the first listen, riffs coming at you with overwhelming speed and ferocity, one right after the other, but the energy never drags. While Bato rides riffs just long enough to set the hook, they always have a tempo change or a cool little trade-off between instruments to keep the song moving. The songs are well-written, even subtle, feeling cooked down to where they’re as lean as they can be, all flavor and no filler. That sense of density combined with Bato’s consistently manic tempos makes Human Cancer a demanding yet exhilarating listen.