There's not many bands that combine melody with brutality effectively these days on the metal circuit-Scar Symmetry certainly have done it quite well for a couple of years now, but let's face it, there are few others who do it consistently and convincingly. Well, add California-by-the-way-of-Oklahoma five piece Bleed the Sky to that 'short' list of groups that are certainly extreme in every way, but manage to inject their music with enough memorable & melodic moments to potentially appeal to a somewhat wider audience. Yes, Murder the Dance, the band's second release, is that good, a sometimes metalcore, sometimes death metal, often times just kick ass extreme metal platter, filled with all sorts of maniacal vocals, the occasional 'excellent' clean vocal passage, brutal breakdowns, technical bursts of progressive metal explorations, and plenty of groove. What does this all mean? Well, check out "The Sleeping Beauty" for a taste of all this band has to offer, Noah Robinson's ragged screams & growls flying over pummeling rhythms and crushing breakdowns from the guitar team of Justin Warrick & Rob Thornton. As good as the maniacal tracks like "Morose" and "Poseidon" are, the more melodic piecies like "Kettle Black", "Sullivan", and the melancholic "Occam's Razor" are where the true identity of the band comes out, showing a group that is just as comfortable spewing out insane extreme metal fodder as they are delivering catchy hooks and brooding post rock or proggy fare. Ultimately Murder the Dance is just one hell of a ride, a vehicle for a young band that really has a knack for delivering varied metal that hits on a lot of different styles and is successful on all of them. If Nuclear Blast has any bands on their roster that has 'mainstream' potential (whatever that means these days), Bleed the Sky might just be one of them and should be near the top of the list.
Track Listing
1 Knife Fight In a Phone Booth
2 Sullivan
3 Murder the Dance
4 Sleeping Beauty, The
5 Morose
6 Occam's Razor
7 Bastion
8 Slavior
9 Kettle Black
10 Poseidon
11 Demons That Could Be, The
12 Vertical Smile
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