- Taboo GRB

First Impressions
Released in June 2022 (primarily as an international/overseas release), the Hammer Taboo GRB brings a legendary name back to the lanes. The GRB tag stands for the aggressive color scheme in Grey, Royal and Black. Technically this ball is a real powerhouse: it combines the famous Gas Mask Core (RG 2.50, diff 0.058 at 15 lbs) — known from the Black Widow series — with the state-of-the-art Envy Solid CFI coverstock. This carbon-fiber-reinforced cover was originally developed for the high-performance "Hammer Envy." Out of the box, the Taboo GRB comes with a coarse 1500 Siaair Micro Pad finish. This combination of a core with massive flare potential and one of the strongest covers on the market sends an immediate signal: this ball wants to dig, and it wants to do it early.
Comparison
Compared to the Hammer Black Widow 2.0 (Solid), the Taboo GRB plays another step stronger. Where the Widow 2.0 still generates some length with its Aggression Solid cover, the Taboo's Envy CFI cover grabs the lane almost immediately. It reads the midlane considerably earlier than a Storm Phaze II and offers more overall hook than a Roto Grip Gem, while the Gas Mask Core gives it a somewhat more defined move on the backend than the typical, rather "snowplow-like" roll of pure heavy-oil balls. Compared to the Hammer Envy, which uses the same coverstock, the Taboo GRB comes across as a bit more versatile thanks to the Gas Mask core and saves more energy for the pins, while the Envy rolls up even earlier.
On the Lanes
As its June release date suggests, the Hammer Taboo GRB is not a summer solution for dry lanes but a specialist for heavy oil. It's the first choice for long oil patterns or lanes with high oil volume ("flood"), where other balls start to slide. It stabilizes the breakpoint immensely, since it hardly ever overshoots the target. If you carry a lot of speed, it's a dream, because it provides the traction you need. As soon as the lane breaks down (transition) or the heads dry up, though, it will lose energy too early (burn-out). In that case you should switch to a hybrid or pearl (like the Black Widow Ghost).