Set 3,000 years before the events of his 2022 album Subaru Boys : FINAL HEAVEN, Cruel Santino’s highly anticipated third studio album K.O.T.B - The Bomberman Chronicles proposes an apocryphal deconstruction of grief’s timeline and manifestations. The project’s 14 songs place as much emphasis on fictionalized events as they do Cruel Santino’s experiences navigating bereavement and absence, while piano flourishes and twinkly percussion help document the collapse of a fantastical primordial civilization. On “Stubborn,” Santino is layering lyrics about escapism and agony over particularly jaunty instrumentals. “Are we marching on and are we moving forward/Guess it’s just the way to go/I heard that she was singing in her grave,” he sings. On “Gypsy Gowns,” he’s admitting to taking pills to avoid dealing with the full range of his burdens over an orchestral beat. Similarly, there is a wistful longing for the project’s titular character on “Rolen,” which features Danish Chinese singer Helena Gao. In the moments when his anguish recedes, though, Santino delivers some of the most euphoric moments of his career thus far. He’s claiming his heritage on the NOLA-bounce-inspired “Benin Bounce,” while Nigerian rapper Jeriq joins for a playful homage to being in demand on “Oz.” And then there are Santino’s dalliances with a few members of Nigeria’s increasingly exciting underground scene: Indi adding complexity to the tear-jerking “Heaven Is in Pain” and upstart MC Zaylevelten, alongside OctobersRich, turning up the trap-inflected “Big Drop.”