Balothizer are a power trio who describe their renditions of Greek island Crete’s traditional music as “post-Cretan”. Their following however has come up with a tagline that defines their concoction of thrash metal with acid-blotted Cretan folk… Cretan Music From Hell! A tagline that became the title of their debut album. With their fusion of Cretan music and poetry traditions with heavy bass lines and thunderous drumming, Balothizer are releasing their sophomore album, Cretan Smash. This is a whole new level of unabashed Cretan spirit: grittier arrangements of the Crete’s fiery traditional music performed with a raw, jackhammering intensity - all mixed by Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier. The result is something that sounds like a coupling of Psarantonis and a 1980s punk gathering in a grimy basement full of moshing weirdos.

Balothizer’s beginnings lie in London just as the metropolitan city was experiencing a “world music” and jazz renaissance with immigrant musicians embracing their own traditions from beyond the western European world. Simultaneously, the Greek rock scene was turning into a phenomenon across the European and especially Balkan stoner and metal underground - it’s no surprise that Balothizer’s Greek-language, folk-meets-metal came about.