Most Precious Blood "DNR" Bullet Tooth/Morse Code Recordings
I will assume you know the band if you are reading this. I will assume that you understand the solid roots burrowed deeply in the soil of hardcore with metallic influences. Rachel and Justin come from the ashes of Indecision (and have forays into other bands as well, a la Rachel’s all girl NY Metal band, Wage of Sin; or Rachel’s playing on one of my all time favorites, SFA’s “Solace”). With Colin and Matt solidified in the line-up for 2 lps, this third album with vocalist Rob Fusco (with a steep tradition in SXE Vegan bands, like the goliath, One King Down), they solidify a stalwart of a line-up. Finally, I will assume, you have been writhing in your own drool as this rumored release has been the proverbial carrot dangling in front of us.
And now it’s here. Well, it actually has been for weeks, on Bullet Tooth Records (the new “trustkill”, if you will). And I would have reviewed this sooner if I could have unhinged my white knuckles from the speaker cabinets. This murky, indulgent sonic evisceration is well worth the wait.
Yep, prepare for all the metalcore clichés to be strewn on the cracked wall: brutal, crushing, scathing, visceral – all hyperboles are actually applicable as if their virginal utilization had been buried, awaiting to be seduced by this lp. I cannot justifiably relay the void of the shadows in which this album looms; the murky quagmire from which these songs have risen. I feel unclean when I listen to it. This would be a fitting soundtrack to “Martyrs” or “Saw”. I picture the scene in the comic book tale or underworld gangster flick when they need the services of an underground surgeon. It’s always some half lit, flickering, warehouse or project that’s 40 years since abandoned with that sickly green glow on the cracked tile wall and rusty tools sparsely laid over dirt and rats. This is not a feel good album.
FOR FANS OF: Dark, musical intensity Integrity or early Slayer; Hardcore spirit of Sick of It All (especially the gritty ferocity of “Scratch The Surface” and “Death To Tyrants”); The punk ethos of Minor Threat; The naked emotion of Unbroken. The lyrics and music channel all these bands; and the desperation of raw feelings and nerves exposed to a callous world do as well.
All these comparisons hold weight, but the band clearly stands on their own. While the previous two were great albums, this shows the band fusing into an unstoppable, synchronized machine. They share the same pulse as they ravage your ear drums. The drumming is impeccable. Its sheer control over the listener is ubiquitous. But it is mixed so well, that the drumming is transformed into not just an element in the music: it is the unstable foundation on which you now stand. The vocals are the hailing winds crashing against your beaten frame. The guitars’ and bass’ thick punch are the regrets and resentment and rage that brought you here initially.
As you are regaining consciousness after song 5, “Upstate Ghost” comes at you with an Eyehategod style dirge; furthering that penury feeling. And all you have to clean yourself off with is a rusty collection of steel wool. (It pops up again in Song 11).
There are plenty slower parts throughout the album, a la the classic hardcore breakdown or head nod portion. They just are placed in a song to entice you; always quickly replaced with an up tempo barrage of speed and unrelenting noise. And the samples, bells, and ambient noise help to vary the album. This journey through the ornery side of human emotion never dulls, only provides respite to inhale and absorb what you have experienced.
The lp begins with “A Danger to Myself and Others” *(which is the sole criteria for holding a person against their will at a psychiatric hospital). It has a quiet intro, then a cool intro of a slower riff and then a high paced gallop, which switches back to the tough, monstrous riff of the head nod portion for the chorus. I am by no means a fan of electronic music; or really electronics in my heavy music; but this is icing on the cake, so to speak. It never takes center stage or is laid as the pith of the song; just an added weapon.
“STFU, jailbreak” comes in with a vicious metal stomp like a Walls of Jericho meets Throwdown pounding chorus. But the quickened pace of the verses fly by. “Meth Mites” kill your senses with beating tight drums and a jagged bass line. The middle slows down a little, but has still Rob’s venomous bite. “Open wide. Out with your tongue!” (I picture another gruesome, barbaric slashing of a tongue with a rusty razor as the liar’s condemnation.)
“Blame it on Altered Beast” comes like a blizzard of nails in which I find it hard to reclaim my ground. It then has a mid song riff that lays a grooved riff for the vocals. “Stuart is a Dead Man Walking” starts with drum rolls that will get the stage dives and head-walks started with no remorse. This quickly yields to a frantic wave of distortion and haunting declarations. “Of Scattered Ants…” is a quieter piece, but still with the same arduous screaming that has toured us through the prior 9 elemental engagements of enmity.
“Enthusiastic Eugenicist” is a tight riff that harkens upon the earlier mentioned Integrity influence. Again, divvied up into two segments, super fast and breakdown groove; repeated twice.
“Functional Autist” is possibly the most varied and certainly the most punishing of the tunes; and my favorite. There is no equal for the terrifying mood this illuminates inside the listener; acting as a conduit for the vengeful disgust Fusco is unleashing. It also emits the thrashiest riff of the bunch, boasting a tight upswing (a la Terror) from the guitar. The drums pound in a lower tone acting as the crumbling bricks of your sanity’s foundation.
The lyrics are abstract renditions of murder, death, revenge, hate, and focus. The omniscient doom and damnation is the courier of the suffering’s fate.
The last track is titled, “Do Not Resuscitate”; and I feel this maybe more than their nod to individual rights. I think they are speaking as a band and this may be their last endeavor. While I hope not, at least they will end on the highest note (or the dirtiest, guttural declaration…). This is the mired anti-hero spitting blood as he hobbles, clothes strewn and bones broken, toward an uncertain future.
Cuz, as the first song states: “You die if you don’t grow”
Buy It at RevHQband
