Out 27 February, 2026
Via Creator-Destructor Records
Words by: Angela Croudace
I was lucky enough to tell guitarist and vocalist Trevor Reilly that Ruiner completely blew my mind as a teenager. I remember forcing friends to listen to it. Friends who immediately loved it, then turned to me and asked, ‘What genre is this?‘ I didn’t have an answer then and I’m not sure I have one now. A Wilhelm Scream have always operated in their own lane; too technical for straightforward punk, too hook-driven for metal, too wonderfullyferal for anything polished and safe.
Cheap Heat doesn’t try to redefine their identity either, it only reinforces it.
With their back catalogue sitting firmly in my memory, I hit play expecting intensity. And boy, I got it immediately.
Somebody’s Gonna Die the image in my head as soon as I heard this one was of a projectile hurtling from some type of weapon that I’d be able to describe if I knew enough about weapons, but I don’t. A rapid-fire riff tears the door open, layered vocals stack over relentless drumming, and the energy feels reminiscent of Ruiner’s urgency without sounding like a flat out hark back. It’s sharp. Punchy. Direct. The guitar is freaking insane!
The Scumbag Grift doubles down: again, with that succulent guitar work! A precision-driven lead passage that feels lifted from modern metal, breakneck pacing, and lyrics that feel like they’re designed to shove you forward rather than let you stand still.
Midnight Ghost pulls the tempo back ever so slightly, but the drums still punish with restless momentum. There’s a groove to this track set by the opening noodling that smoothly moves into that chaotic overarching sound of the record. The lyrics take more of a spotlight too even when they ease off the throttle, there’s urgency and tension simmering underneath. Midnight Ghost ends satisfactorily with a few notes from the guitar it opened on.
Let It Ride is catchy from the get go. From the opening bars it locks into a hook that feels bright without losing its bite. There’s a lift in the melody that almost feels optimistic, but the rhythm section keeps it grounded in grit. It’s the kind of track that feels like being with your best mates, tearing down a highway with the windows down and no destination in mind. Even at its most infectious, the song never softens. It surges forward with momentum, carrying that defiant, don’t-care energy without tipping into cliché.
The album closes with Poison II, marginally slower but still charged, ending abruptly, almost defiantly, like the band refusing to overstay their welcome.
Production plays a huge role in the album’s impact. Cheap Heat was produced and mixed by Trevor Reilly at the band’s hometown Anchor End Studio, with mastering handled by his father Joe Reilly at Black & Blue Mastering. The result is immediate and unvarnished without sacrificing clarity. It sounds lived-in and intentional.
The album also marks the recording debut of second guitarist Ben Murray (Light This City, Heartsounds, Darkness Everywhere), as well as group vocals including contributions from Jon Teves and Sean O’Brien work to amplify the record’s confrontational edge.
What stands out most is the delivery. It couldn’t be more straight to the point. Nearly every track hovers around the three-minute mark. No indulgence or filler, just compact bursts of tightly executed aggression.
After decades in the game, A Wilhelm Scream aren’t chasing relevance they’re operating on their own terms. Unboxed, unlabelled, and unaffected by industry currents, they’ve carved out a sound that answers to no one. That independence has never felt stronger. They’re sharpening what they already do best.
This record feels like a landmark; not in the sense of reinvention, but as a confident snapshot of where the band stands today, fully aware of where they’ve been.
If Ruiner was the record that defined them for a generation of listeners, Cheap Heat is proof they still got it.
