Bleeding Through has been leading the charge for hard edged metalcore for the better part of 3 decades. When all of their peers decided to broaden their musical horizons to varying degrees, BT were steadfast in their commitment to brutality.
Time has done nothing to soften the Orange County crushers,their edges remain as serrated as they ever did. Nine is their first album in 7 years following 2018’s Love Will Kill All. This is one of the nastiest and most outwardly ferocious albums they have ever commited to tape.
Gallows opens with a Lord of the Rings sample before hitting you square between the eyes. A flurry of frenzied drums and a throat shredding scream announce Bleeding Through’s return in a way only they can do. Our Brand is Chaos sounds like it could have been lifted off of This is Love, This is Murderous, with its Black Metal atmospherics and confrontational call out lyrics, it’s as classic sounding as you can get without sounding like a retread.
Dead, But So Alive is an explosive thrash attack of a song featuring some blistering solo work and one of the albums stand out choruses as the dual vocal of Brandan Schieppati & Marta Demmel deliver the goods, you’ll be hard pressed to get this one out of your head for a while.
Lost in Isolation featuring Doc Coyle of fellow metalcore pioneers God Forbid is a colossal belter of tune. Syncopated riffs & drums, twin harmonies and a triple vocal trade off from Brandan, Marta & turn this into one of the most intense, melodic & binge worthy tracks in the bands arsenal
Path Of Our Disease sounds like Dimmu Borgir covering Hatebreed…let that sink in for a second. I am Resistance with Andrew Neufeld of Comeback Kid is so Fast & Furious that Vin Diesel wants to have a word. Both tracks perfectly sum up what makes this band so special.
Emery is a bruising burst of vulnerability that helps to balance out the intensity of the albums back half. Its reminiscent of Line in the Sand from The Truth, it reminds you that Bleeding Through are a deft hand at dealing in more than one type of heavy.
War Time ft Shadows Fall resident growler Brian Fair feels as violent & personal as the name suggests. Lyrically it seems like a lot of people are in the firing line as Brandan & Brian tear this track apart.
Unholy Armada sends the album off as violently as it began. A whirlwind of riffs and swirling keys converge in a maelstrom of pit-ready savagery, eventually riding off with a harmony that signals the end of the darkness and the coming of the dawn.
In many ways Nine is the ultimate Bleeding Through album. This is the sound of a band that is as focused, vicious and hungry as they ever have been. The riffs are sharper than ever, the atmospherics are used perfectly and accentuate and elevate each track they are employed on. Marta’s increased vocal presence is a shining light cutting through the album’s darker moments. Everything on this album is a timely reminder of why Bleeding Through is such a revered and influential band and one that keeps enduring.
When every other band around them sold out, they bought in and bet on themselves. This is a raw, visceral and real as metalcore gets, here’s hoping they don’t leave it another 7 years before the next album, because the world needs Bleeding Through now more than ever.
Nine is out on February 14th via Sharptone Records. For more information head here
