Intense
J Lee Harshbarger | Ypsilanti, MI United States | 08/02/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Intense heavy guitars, and the vocals are mostly yelled. Not just a single singer like hardcore; the whole bunch of them yell together. At times dark, but at other times almost jubilant sounding, but still yelling. Awesome stuff for when you're in a mood for intense, in-your-face sound."
Give Us More Barabbas
Troy Polidori | Tujunga, CA United States | 10/11/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The Blamed is one of those personas that is similar to Schwarzenegger films and Devo; their legacy rests solely on one event (or album in this case), and that was the brilliant 1996 album, "Frail". It has been said that Slayer fans eyes light up when one mentions The Blamed simply because of the innovation of such an album. The raw guts that it displayed made it appealing to anyone that lent an ear. However, the rest of The Blamed's existence hasn't been so extravagant. Never keeping a straight lineup in place (Bryan Gray is the only remaining original member of the band), The Blamed haven't kept a consistent sound together for more than a single album. Now, one such as I finds pleasure in such experimentation in a group, but most of the population likes a signature sound and prefers to keep it that way until Christ cometh. Now lets have some quick context. The Blamed's last album, "Isolated Incident", made a move towards a more progressive emocore style that didn't exactly turn a lot of heads, although it was quite innovative. The band doesn't ditch this sound for the new album at all, but highly improves on it while adding, what seemed like, long lost ideas left long ago. "The Lonely Zagreb" begins "Give Us Barabbas" with old-school punk reminiscent of the "21" days. The song interludes into some quirky guitar effects and awesome bass lines that lead to more fun Blamed punky screams and shouts. "The Jealous Answer" shows best the improvement of The Blamed since their last album. Bryan Gray shows, in the pre-chorus, chorus, and bridge alike, why he is so well liked in the Christian music scene. Mindbending guitar breakdowns force one to pick up ones air guitar and play along without hesitation. "1200 stares" shows the bands ability to write catchy start-stop rhythms, but is then, strangely enough, followed by rampant fills and guitar interludes. On "You Not Me" the new found emo sound emits from the studio. The lyric "This is all, this is all walking in the rain" explains it quite well. "So Depraved" highlights the album with creative cymbal work and more awesome guitar riffs from virtuoso Bryan Gray. "In Szentendre" and "Open Mouth" both showcase Bryan's addition of thrashy riffs along with the progressive numbers. "Cyclical" may be one of the best Blamed tracks to date. It begins like a song that could have made the cut of Fugazi's "13 Songs". The song soon interludes for a time, then flaunts one of the catchiest hooks ever heard in a verse. Quite an accomplishment for the veterans. The end of the album, with the exception of the engaging instrumental, sticks to a punk pop formula that, while not preferred, works to an extent. There is nothing complicated to say of this album except that "Give Us Barabbas" is a very good album by a very good band. Finally, The Blamed has a sound that they seem comfortable sticking with for at least one more album."
