The Thirteenth Turn are back with a new record that delivers everything a good, dark, punk rock mess should have: speed, rage, dirt, and an atmosphere that feels more like a ride through a nocturnal forest than a cozy listen in your living room. Bokkenrijder is precisely the type of album where you feel the band knows what they want to play—no pretense, no unnecessary showing off.

The very name “Bokkenrijder” holds its own magic. It refers to the 18th-century Benelux legend: a gang of criminals and outlaws who supposedly rode on goats and terrorized the countryside. And that is exactly the aesthetic The Thirteenth Turn presents: filthy darkness, a bit of mystery, yet still carrying that classic European Oi!/Streetpunk feeling. When a gaunt rider stares at you from the cover, you immediately know this won’t be an album about love.

Musically, the band delivers hard, sharply-cut Oi!/Streetpunk with hints of metal and a whole lot of dark atmosphere! It’s a mix of aggressive riffs, driving rhythmic passages, and choruses that give the crowd a chance to shout along with the band.

The Thirteenth Turn is the type of band that doesn’t care about the mainstream; they care about atmosphere. I’d much rather listen to this in a small, smoky basement club than at a big summer festival. The sound is dark and unsettling, just like the stories the Bokkenrijder symbol recalls.

Bokkenrijder feels like the soundtrack to a night hunt: quick breaths, shadows, branches whipping your face, and somewhere you hear footsteps—or are they hooves? I guess it depends on your nature whether you feel like the hunter or the hunted.

The Thirteenth Turn are here, and for my money, this really fucking delivers!