Richmond, Virginia metal-punk trio BAT has been delivering their own blood-spattered horror since ascending from the underground a decade ago on a dark, leather-winged trajectory. The brainchild of MUNICIPAL WASTE guitarists Ryan Waste & Nick Poulos, BAT leans heavily on the dirtier side of speed metal. On May 17th, the band welcomes the release of their second full-length album Under The Crooked Claw via Nuclear Blast Records.

Today, the band offers the infectious second track entitled 'Streetbanger'. The music video was directed by Ryan Waste and the cinematography was completed by Jeff Howlett.

BAT's Ryan Waste states, "'Streetbanger' was a title and lyrical concept I’ve had since the BAT demo days, so it’s been marinating for some time. It’s one of the tunes we reworked and played live for a while so it’s already been a staple in the setlist. For the video, we walked the streets of our hometown, Richmond, VA and shot the performance in our actual rehearsal space. I was able to direct the video clip on my own terms with the help of our close friend Jeff Howlett. Jeff is an amazing photographer who shot the band photos for our upcoming album Under the Crooked Claw as well as a documentary filmmaker known for A Band Called Death (2012). 'Streetbanger' embodies our raw, no-frills attitude in BAT and what you see is what you get.”

The power trio, completed by drummer Chris Marshall, decamped to Philadelphia in June 2021 where Arthur Rizk recorded the basic tracks for Under The Crooked Claw. Yavé Rust tracked lead guitars and vocals later when the band was back in Richmond, ultimately to be mixed by Rizk and mastered by Joel Grind. The artwork for the album was inked by Brandon Holt and colored by Margaret Rolicki.

Jam-packed with tight, concise songs loaded with punchy choruses and lightning-laced leads, each of the 13 tracks offers a new horror short story mixing the perfect blend of heavy metal, punk, and rock ‘n’ roll or as Waste coins it "primitive heavy speed".