If your ideal Death Metal involves a time-trip back to a humid 1987 video arcade, where the riffs sound like a Terminator taking a bong hit while playing on an ATARI 2600, then BONGINATOR has just released the soundtrack to your life. “Retrodeath”, the band’s second album, is an outrageous, hilarious and surprisingly competent explosion of ’80s nostalgia and Death Metal brutality. From their very name – a portmanteau of ‘Bong’ and ‘Terminator’ – the band makes its intentions clear: this is not an album to be taken seriously, but it is seriously well-made. The album follows a loose concept about a group of stoners on an intergalactic journey to fight aliens, and every track is stuffed with pop culture references from that era: from Robocop and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to obscure B-list horror films. The true magic of “Retrodeath” lies in its audacious fusion of genres. This isn’t just Death Metal with a few synth interludes, it’s a genuine hybridization. The foundation is solid, pounding American style Death Metal. The guitars are down-tuned, the riffs are incisive and the drums unleash punishing blast beats, while the deep, guttural growls recall influences like CANNIBAL CORPSE or OBITUARY. Where the album truly shines, however, is with its synthwave elements. These are not an afterthought; the synthwave melodies, 8-bit sounds and John Carpenter-esque soundtrack atmospheres are woven directly into the song structures. Tracks like ‘All Cops Are Biomechs’ combine heavy riffs with synth arpeggios, creating a contrast that works perfectly. This isn’t a parody, it’s an homage. The band manages to maintain the aggression of Death Metal while injecting a sense of fun and melodic catchiness typical of synthwave. It’s more than a gimmick, it’s the band’s signature sound. The album is a succession of memorable moments. The tracklist is full of brilliant titles like ‘Pizza Time’ (which features BELUSHI SPEED BALL) and ‘Who Let the ‘Things’ (1989) Out’. Two collaborations stand out in particular. The first is ‘Intruder Organism’ (feat. FULCI), a perfect union where the Italian masters of horror-themed Death Metal lend their heaviness to one of the most brutal tracks on the record. The second is the outro, which is the icing on the cake: the album closes with a saxophone solo by none other than Tim Capello, the iconic “greasy sax guy” from the film The Lost Boys. It’s a move so absurd and perfect that it cements the album’s cult status. “Retrodeath” is a triumph of creativity and fun. By managing to fuse two seemingly irreconcilable genres, BONGINATOR has created an album that is simultaneously brutally heavy and irresistibly amusing. It’s a refreshing listen that will elicit more than one smile while you’re headbanging. If you love Death Metal but don’t mind a bit of self-irony and a massive dose of ’80s synth, “Retrodeath” is a mandatory purchase. Here for some visuals: www.facebook.com/bonginatorma, www.facebook.com/testimonyrecords