Album Reviews : Bleeding Through – Bleeding Through

After seeing Bleeding Through supporting Machine Head recently I was keen to review their new album. Unfortunately the self-titled Bleeding Through does not measure up to either their live performance or – so I’m told – their previous efforts in the studio.

I had hoped that this new album would make me appreciate what has made this band the prominent –core force that it has become. Perhaps this latest album wasn’t the best starting point for that. There’s not actually all that much technically wrong with it, it just seems that the well executed constituents add up to one big ‘meh’ of an album.

The almost obligatory one minute thirty intro track sets up a tone for the album which sounds like it could almost be reminiscent of the latest effort from Cradle of Filth; symphonic and quite dark. It’s also quite dull, something of a repeated motif in Bleeding Through.

The vocals are the standard mix of raw screams and deep gutturals that one expects from a –core band, performed quite competently but without any real distinction from the pack. Clean vocals are also a regular feature: again, they are of the pop-punkish style that one expects of the genre, not particularly tuneful but perfectly serviceable I suppose. They provide a pause from the relentless pummel of Schiepatti’s screams at any rate.

The distorted guitar parts make for underwhelming listening and unmemorable, if quite fast, tunes. Occasionally shining through with some more outgoing, grind-esque passages and a short solo at the end of ‘Your Abandonment’ they are mostly lost to monotony. Similarly bass and drums: more stuff to be unremembered.

Having said all that; keyboards really saved this album for me. Though they are certainly not the only –core band with a keyboardist (e.g. Winds of Plague), I feel Bleeding Through have, for the most part, made good use of the keyboard in a way others have not. I said before that the intro recalled Cradle of Filth and this is largely due to the keyboards. This comes back throughout the album; the symphonic sounds coming from the keyboards add an extra element that’s a bit unexpected. It sounds bizarrely epic for an album played at such speed and with typical ferocity. This is particularly evident in ‘Breathing in the Wrath’, a definite highlight.

Bleeding Through is certainly a better album than its ugly cover would indicate but, aside from some standout keyboard passages it’s just not very interesting or memorable. I have briefly listened to some of their older material, including the previous album, and this is definitely a step down, in my opinion. If you’ve never heard this band before, start further back in the catalogue, if you’re already nuts for Bleeding Through, at least try before you buy. 5.5/10

Band: Bleeding Through
Album: Bleeding Through
Year: 2010
Genre: Metalcore
Origin: California
Label: Rise Records
http://www.myspace.com/bleedingthrough

Tracklisting:
1. A Resurrection
2. Anti-Hero
3. Your Abandonment
4. Fifteen Minutes
5. Salvation Never Found
6. Breathing in the Wrath <— Reviewer’s Choice
7. This Time Nothing Is Sacred
8. Divide the Armies
9. Drag Me to the Ocean
10. Light My Eyes
11. Slow Your Roll
12. Distortion, Devotion