Search - Blood Has Been Shed :: Spirals + Novella

Of the two albums, Novella of Uriel is a more directly accessible work, with some melody and keyboard soundscapes creeping into the assault. Bizarre then that Roadrunner choose to put Spirals first, because any emo kids picking up this CD are going to fins themselves quickly making the acquaintance of a titanic strain of math-metal that gives Meshuggah a run for their nihilistic money. The opening battery of Age of Apocalypse/Prion is almost disturbing in its ferocity, crashing around the listener in dysfunctional polyrhythms and blast-beats. Among their contemporaries, only perhaps Zao or The Agony Scene can match this level of intensity but both those bands are perhaps more constrained by record/release listenability, where Blood Has Been Shed is a side project and hence (apparently) pulls no punches. Jones does still sing occasionally, say on She Speaks To Me, but these moments are used sparingly to the extent that the effect is almost as harsh as his screams. None of this album is going to have dancefloors swaying and it must be said that Roadrunner are taking something of a risk unleashing it on a public weaned on Killswitch. Spirals in particular is such heavy-going that I found it impossible to listen through in one sitting - moments of accessibility such as House of Fists mosh-along groove or Beginner's Luck are few and far between. Respect to BHBS for including a triangle/digeridoo solo on a metalcore album (Beatnik) but these little experimentations, whilst diverting, are so disjointed and incongruous that it's hard to see where the band are going with them, other than giving the listener a chance to soak up the blood from their ears. Roadrunner. 2005.