Blood Has Been Shed - Spirals (14 tracks) +Album Reviews

Real hardcore

S. Chamberlain | Rowlett, TX United States | 10/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"2003 so far has been a very dissappointing year for hardcore or more specifically the so called labeled "emocore". Poison the Well failed again to produce another "Opposite of December", and From Autumn To Ashes got rid of everything heavy and great about them on "The Fiction We LIve". Well, Blood Has Been Shed does not dissappoint from start to end.Some people were a little weary about Howard joining Killswitch Engage simply because everyone thought that he wouldn't perform quite as well for BHBS. Howard quickly and powerfully puts all doubts to shame. His vocals have more emotion, anger, and just amazing through and through. "She Speaks to Me" seems as Howard complete vocals from high pitched screams to low dark growls. To cap it off he finishes the song with a great sense of melody. His singing is nicely arranged so that the melodies don't get overused. On "Utah" melody is the key as Howard sings primarily the whole time.Musically, the band got heavier, nastier, more complex, and much more techinical. A comparision a lot of people are seeming to link towards metalcore kings Meshuggah. There are a lot of polyrhythems and great breakdowns for those hardcore fans. The drummer Justin Foley's really showcases his psychotic talent on "She Speaks to Me" with a stop and go onslaught on the skins.As Derek from Hitthepit said, "When a band can jump from tapping triangles and smacking bongo drums, to belting out death licks and roaring with anger, you know they have talent. Intelligent yet deadly! Furious yet controlled! Beautifully ugly! These are all description of "Spirals". Spin it and love it!" Simply put this so far is the best cd of the year by far and really sets the bar high for Howard's next release with Killswitch Engage."

Wow

Willo | MI USA | 08/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"i was a little edgy picking this one up since ive only heard the 30 second samples off of amazon, but man was i glad i picked it up. one of the best cds to be released so far this year. insane time changes and guitar riffs that feel like a dropkick to the skull. the disc is only about 30 minutes long, but its well worth every penny you pay for it. while blood has been shed will probably never reach a major label, they still knock every nu-metal crap band dead. get this, no questions asked, you will NOT regret it!!!"

Crushingly Heavy, 4 and a 1/2 stars

Concatenation | West Lin, OR ,United States | 07/26/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Before THE Howard Jones became the singer of Killswitch Engage, this band was his baby. Their latest release, Spirals, is the very definition of heavy. Look up skull crushingly heavy in the dictionary and you'll find Howard Jones and Blood Has Been Shed.This record further cements the case that they are the Meshuggah of hardcore metal. Very complex, mind twisting time changes, unpredictable bursts of blast, and crushing and crunching guitars pummel you into the ground with sonic waves of destruction. Backed by Jones' brutal vocals, this really is one of the heavier records ever released. Like a previous reviewer said, it only comes in at 30 mins, but its 30 mins of such punishment that it feels like 3 hours... and that's not a bad thing.Scattered around are a few tribal-like drum interlude tracks and there's even a few moments of clean vocals and beautiful melody that proves this band is as dynamic as it is heavy. There is even one song, Utah, that has melodic clean vocals througout the entire song. However, 95% of the time, this band will be shoving unadulterated violence down your throat.Killswitch Engage remains Howard Jones' #1 priority, which means we won't be lucky enough to see this band tour anytime soon, if ever. Even so, this band has left a mark in heavy music.Need proof? Just check out first song off of this record, "Age of Apocalype", and recognize that these boys don't play."

The BEST album released so far this year.

lowfall | Poulsbo, Washington United States | 07/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is truel amazing. I had high expectations of this album when I first heard the sample tracks at Ferret Records website. I was there the day it came out and I bought it, and you should too. Every track kills. It's short, at only about 30 minutes long, but it's so brutal you couldn't take much more than that. It's far more complex than their previous albums. The timing seems to switch multiple times on every song, and the Howard Jones voice is amazing. He proves why he's the best hardcore vocalist out there. Make no mistake this album is heavy. Super heavy. Much louder and more complex than any album recently released. If you buy one CD, buy this. You won't be let down, unless you're expecting this to sound like Killswitch Engage. It's not. It's darker, and dare I say heavier."

Worth spending your money on.........

hardcoreforever | Iowa | 06/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this cd is pure metalcore and just raw, the vocals are amazing and they range the longest craziest screams to some actualy singing, and the guitars are full of range, this is one of those cds where you can sit down and listen to it straight through many times, some songs are very fast and some are slower but just as hard just slower riffs, its kind of weird because you will have some slower riffs but he will be screaming just as hard as when they bust out into some insane riffs and breakdowns, you need this album even better than killswitch engage, he needs to stick with both bands...."

Search - Blood Has Been Shed :: Spirals

CD Details

Similarly Requested CDs

Member CD Reviews

CD Reviews

	Blood Has Been Shed Spirals Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock, Metal Track Listings (14) - Disc #1 Age Of Apocalypse Prion Greetings From The Gallows She Speaks To Me Rain Man Utah Then House Of Fists Beatnik Beginner's Luck Technicolor Jackets Weeping Willow Call Waiting Six Twelve Cortisone
2 Larger Image