Cruel Santino is back with a whole new chapter. K.O.T.B – The Bomberman Chronicles (that’s Kings of the Bounce) arrived on 6 November via Native Sounds and Warner Records.

A story album, 3,000 years earlier

His third studio album is a narrative project and a prequel to Subaru Boys: FINAL HEAVEN (2022). The story is set 3,000 years before the Final Heaven arc, in a world where humans and sea creatures don’t yet live in harmony, and it follows arms dealers who turn the fight against those creatures into a business.

Under the world-building, the album deals with grief and how communities survive, set against the commercialisation of war. According to Clash, that grief was shaped by the sudden death of a close friend Santino lived with early in his career.

Sound-wise, expect atmospheric synths over up-tempo Afrobeats. The album follows six singles, and one track Clash names is ‘Game of Death’.

Catch him live in Paris

Santino has one show lined up so far: Friday 11 December at The Trabendo in Paris.

While you dive into the new album, watch the official video for ‘Big Drop’ featuring Zaylevelten, shared by Clash alongside the album news:

Source: Clash