When C4 first appeared on their split with Worn, they sounded like a band seconds away from obliterating themselves — pure fight-or-flight hardcore, all sweat and grime, zero restraint. Their side of that split wasn’t polished, clever, or pretty. It was a brick-to-the-skull barrage of bass-heavy rage that felt like watching someone snap in real time. A band ready to detonate.

With Payback’s a Bitch, C4 haven’t calmed down — but they have focused. The chaos is still there, but sharper, heavier, meaner. The production hits with more weight, the riffs have more teeth, and the attitude feels weaponized. It’s still unhinged hardcore, but now it’s hardcore with intent.

The opener, “Bashing Intro / Subject Has Escaped,” is exactly the kind of welcome-back C4 should deliver: a short-range explosion. Bass thick enough to rattle drywall, drums that stomp instead of play, and riffs that feel like they’re sprinting toward the nearest wall. It’s urgent, violent, and sets the record’s temperature immediately. By the time the track ends, you understand two things: C4 are absolutely still pissed, and they learned how to weaponize that anger.

“Carved in Blood” blasts forward with a teeth-clenched sprint that only a certain breed of hardcore bands can do without falling apart. The bass tone is disgusting in the best way, the vocals hit with spit-flecked hatred, and the breakdown lands like someone kicking in the door of your skull. Then C4 drop into a sloppy, swaggering two-step — the kind that turns a pit into a demolition derby. Tracks like “Stay Away from Me” and “With Hate II” keep that rabid energy alive. These songs don’t build. They attack. The riffs snap, the drums bite, and the vocals sound like someone who hasn’t had a positive thought in years. “Stay Away from Me” especially is pure C4: unhinged rage with just enough dark humor to make you laugh while someone gets punched. Lines like “drink some bleach and die today” feel spitefully unserious but hit harder for it.

Then comes “Fuck It All,” where the band leans into wild galloping riffs and war-drum intensity. The transitions aren’t clean — they lurch around like someone fighting three dudes at once — but that’s exactly why it works. The sloppiness feels intentional. Human. Dangerous. “Cry About It” is the tightest, fastest punch on the whole album. It borders on powerviolence — frantic drums, razor-wire guitars, and a “blink and die” pace. C4 know exactly how to pivot from breakneck speed into that knuckle-dragging groove that makes the room tilt sideways.

“Bring Back the Hate” and “Bomb the Scene” mark the album’s nastiest, filthiest run. The bass on “Bring Back the Hate” is subterranean — grimy, thick, muddy, and absolutely perfect. It’s the kind of tone that makes you feel like you inhaled something toxic. The thrash influence creeps in, and the riffs jump between hardcore and crossover like they’re daring you to keep up. Then “Bomb the Scene” drops like… well, a bomb. With jet planes screaming overhead and riffs blasting holes in the room, it feels like the band scoring their own violent uprising. It’s ridiculous, theatrical, and honestly incredible.

“Perdition Awaits” and “C4 Goes to War” show the band experimenting with slightly longer structures — not long, but long for C4. “Perdition” has killer thrash riffs and a satisfying, swagger-laced finale complete with a dirty solo. “C4 Goes to War” feels like a mission statement: bombs dropping, vocals snarling, and the band collapsing into chaos like it’s a sport. Then “Hammer of Justice” tries to build something slow and heavy. It mostly works, but it also proves the truth: C4 are unstoppable when they hit fast and don’t overthink it.

The title track “Payback’s a Bitch” starts strangely subdued, almost moody — then detonates into the nastiest thrash riffs on the record. The breakdown doesn’t crush quite as hard as it should, but the song feels big. It’s a standout, a statement of intent, a “remember us” moment. Finally, “Me & the Boys” closes the album with fake boos, sloppy humor, and a thick, groovy beat that sounds like a victory lap. It’s the perfect ending: self-aware, goofy, violent, and undeniably fun.

Compared to their split with Worn, Payback’s a Bitch feels like C4 deliberately sharpening every edge without sanding off the filth. The production is heavier, the grooves hit harder, the jokes are darker, the anger is louder, and they still sound like a band who might explode in the middle of a set. C4 doesn’t want to be clever. They want to be loud, filthy, immediate, and destructive. Every song feels like a brick hurled through a window — ugly, fun, and honest as hell. Payback’s a Bitch is exactly what it needs to be: violent, unpolished, and ready for war.