the drums. The album showcases influences derived from heavy metal, mixing the band's signature garage rock guitar tones and psychedelic rock sounds with thrash metal. The group had experimented with heavy music in previous releases such as Nonagon Infinity, but Infest the Rats' Nest marked a deeper exploration of the style. Beyond thrash metal, it has also been described as a stoner rock album. Mackenzie cited groups such as Motörhead, Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Overkill, Sodom, Rammstein and Kreator as influences. On creating Infest the Rats' Nest, he said the band intended to "be more extreme and more intense – just to see how it would take shape". Mackenzie's acquisition of a Gibson Explorer was also said to have inspired the heavier sound, and was used on every song on the album. Heavy metal guitar techniques are used throughout, such as shredding and chugging, in addition to the wah-wah and delay effects more typical of the band's style. As with other releases, unusual time signatures. The album makes consistent use of double kick drumming and harsh vocal delivery. "Superbug" has been described as a more downtempo stoner rock or sludge metal song than the rest of the track listing, and has been compared to the work of Sleep or Melvins. "Mars for the Rich" was compared by some reviewers to Black Sabbath, and "Perihelion" has been likened to power metal. Lyrics On the album's lyrical themes, frontman Stu Mackenzie explained that the A-side is about contemporary issues such as ecological disaster and climate change and is set in the near future, and the B-side follows a group of rebels attempting to colonise Venus after being forced to leave Earth. In this "cli-fi" narrative, the group eventually die and enter Hell. Mackenzie said on the lyrics: "We've got a lot of things to fear... I spend a lot of time thinking about the future of humanity and the future of Planet Earth". "Planet B" opens the album, featuring the refrain "there is no Planet B". "Mars for the Rich" criticises inequality in the context of climate change, with the wealthy exploiting Mars, while the poor survive on a degraded Earth. "Organ Farmer" addresses intensive farming and beef production. "Superbug" discusses a disease outbreak that causes a mass extinction. "Perihelion", "Venusian 1" and "Venusian 2" begins the science fiction narrative, addressing ozone depletion. "Self-Immolate" uses self-immolation as a metaphor for the self-destruction of