The Hands

Saxophonist Mats Gustafsson’s power trio, Fire!, earn that exclamation mark. This, their sixth studio album, might be their heaviest release; bassist Johan Berthling (who also plays guitar and organ, as needed) and drummer Andreas Werliin lay down slow, relentless grooves as thick as cooling tar as Gustafsson, mostly on baritone sax, erupts in post-Brötzmann shrieks and squalls, chewing the reed like a dog chewing through its leash. Occasionally, he lays down the horn, working a small set of electronic devices to create ominous crackles and squeals.