Much like the sci-fi film and comic series of the same name, the band Heavy Metal from Germany apparently also has little to do with actual metal music. We can sit here and argue whether Sammy Hagar and Blue Öyster Cult are “metal”—but we all know they aren’t—and neither is the band in question. Heavy Metal, in fact, have more in common with the musically gifted degenerates in Liquor Store and the ill-fated Sneaky Pinks than they do with the Priest or the Scorps. The opening track “Motorhead” is a bit misleading in that the steady drums and wall-of-noise feedback would suggest a post-punk/shoegaze vibe. From then on the album only gets increasingly rockin’, weirder, and palpable. Songs like “Walking the Dog,” “Crap Wave,” and “Gebrannte Amore” hit all the right targets when you’re looking for quality garage punk. There’s a hauntingly beautiful guitar riff in “I Am Something” that is beset by some inhuman-sounding groans: seriously, what is that? “Centipede Venom” makes you wonder if you didn’t accidentally lick some acid somewhere. An opus of a garage punk album; let’s all send thank you cards to Total Punk for putting out the hits. –Juan Espinosa (Total Punk, totalpunkrecords.com, heavymetal.bandcamp.com)