Just to go back and remember how intense they could be in advance of this review I decided to forego sleep on the plane home during a recent trip and intently listen to my favorite, and the the first album I owned from, Bleeding Through. The album in question is This Is Love, This Is Murderous and there’s something about that album and opener “Love Lost In A Hail Of Gunfire” in particular and the way that Brandan Schieppati’s inhuman scream following the Willem Dafoe sample (From Boondock Saints) at the beginning just completely owns. And it doesn’t let up from that opening call to arms until the last notes of “Revenge I Seek”.
But I digress.
Bleeding Through has always been this interesting enigma for me. Heavy, dynamic, and unable to be pinned down to one specific genre but if I had to describe the band to an uninitiated heavy music fan then Pantera meets Strapping Young Lad (Devin Townsend actually produced 2008’s Declaration) would be my go-to comparison especially when describing their comeback album, Love Will Kill All. Combining even more groove like those mighty Texans and even more symphonic elements like those mighty Canadians with their already extreme brand of metal, Bleeding Through has created an album that easily sounds as fresh and energetic as their debut. And with each song barely hitting three minutes (Save for closer “Life”), Bleeding Through has come up with this fantastic formula of making these concise ragers that not only, ahem, rage but also stick with listeners well after they’ve passed.
“Darkness A Feeling I Know” is the ominous calm before the storm focusing on Marta Peterson’s haunting synths and a soothing yet subtly sneering delivery from Brandan Schieppati until the brutal “Fade Into The Ash” drops with a sound that’s almost as intense as “Love Lost In A Hail Of Gunfire”. But Love… immediately differs from that fifteen year old behemoth by showing off the seasoned songwriting that still goes for the throat but with a maturity as Peterson’s gothic elements mix with a carnival-like creepiness and Schieppati just going for it with these huge anthemic choruses.
“End Us” is a solid stomper propelled by Derek Youngsma’s immaculate time keeping prowess and bestial bashing while “Cold World” experiments with Thrash then goes somewhere else with these clean vocals and big synth lines and a gang vocal chorus that’s sure to be a crowd favorite.
That creepy carnival vibe returns on “Dead Eyes” (Thanks, Marta!) then becomes a monstrous shredder with Brian Leppke ripping like a Power Metal God! “Buried” hearkens back to that This Is Love… feeling of sheer intensity throughout with Youngsma and bassist Ryan Wombacher providing a much needed solid rhythmic footing as Leppke’s guitar wails and roars as heavily as Schieppati’s vocals.
“No Friends” is that aforementioned Pantera meets SYL vibe bringing the groove and an epic keyboard layer blanketing all but that influence is even more apparent on “Set Me Free” which has these killer synth lines that could’ve been ripped straight from Alien (Still the best SYL album). “No One From Nowhere” stomps in next like a Symphonic Metal beast with these Meshuggah-like guitar tones and a huge breakdown that will remind listeners why they liked Bleeding Through in the first place.
Love Will Kill All is out through Sharptone Records on May 25th. An abundance of physical, digital, and streaming pre-order options are available by clicking here. Bleeding Through will be doing the obligatory and celebratory touring run soon and you can find out all that and more by clicking here.