Orange County, California. Home to two of the most staged shows in existence and many metal and hardcore acts such as Avenged Sevenfold and Atreyu. If you've read my review on Avenged Sevenfold, you know how I feel about them. In my mind, they're great, possibly the best thing for me since oxygen. Many people on here have similar feelings on Atreyu. While I do own both their CDs and listen to both occasionally, I find it to be repetative and usually can't listen to more than three of their songs in a sitting.
In the middle of those two bands is another OC band known as Bleeding Through. Bleeding Through is twice as brutal as both these bands combined. The vocal style used by frontman Brandan Schieppati is often a deep growl. He very rarely sings. The guitars are mostly just heavy riffs, with some pinch harmonics thrown in. The rhythm section of the band is overall pretty solid. But the coolest part about the band is the keyboards done by Marta. It definitley adds something different into the metalcore genre. Now, the track-by-track...
1. Love Lost In A Hail Of Gunfire (*5 out of 5*)
The album opens up with what I think is the strongest song. After an introduction piece from the movie "Boondock Saints", the band bursts in, with Brandan letting out a scream of fury. The verses flow along very well in this song. The breakdown at the end of this song is also very well done. Until the breakdown, it spouts anger out of every pore. Amazing way to start of the album.
2. Sweet Vampirous (*2.5 out of 5*)
The shortest song on the CD, almost like a filler track. Its really not that good of a song at all. Nothing really shines through or does anything special. The lack of time probably hurts it a lot too in this case.
3. Number Seven With A Bullet (*3.5 out of 5*)
The chorus to this song ("We'll wear the crown of thorns, we'll wear the mask of Judas") really sticks out in my mind. Musicwise, nothing all too fancy in this song. Just very heavy and angry once again.
4. On Wings Of Lead (*4.5 out of 5*)
By far the most melodic song Bleeding Through has written to date. The chorus includes Brandan singing. They actually pull off the parts well because they still have some heavy guitar and drums behind the vocals. Overall a great song.
5. What I Bleed Without You (*2.5 out of 5*)
Kind of just very heavy riffs with lots of anger. Again, not a bad song, but nothing really sticks out in it.
6. This Is Love, This Is Murderous (*3.5 out of 5*)
Another song with heavy riffs and lots of anger, but there is something different about this song. The beginning starts of very slow paced with some decent lyrics ("Midnight, we kill. We slaughter the tongue of revolution"). It speeds up and turns back into a generic angry song, but the guitars are better on this song than on the previous one. The solo part is ok too.
7. City of the Condemned (*5 out of 5*)
The standout track for guitars by far. Many pinch harmonics are used, and the matching riffs are great. The vocals are very good in the chorus of this song. The lyrics are still based around anger. The chanting of "You are the true ***ing fakes!" near the end is a great way to end the track. Great song.
8. Mutilation (*3 out of 5*)
This is the start of the most boring/repetative part of the album. The drums on this track are clearly what keeps it from being another "What I Bleed Without You" contentwise. Its yet another angry song with heavy riffs. The vocals aren't quite as good here as in other places, but the whispers during the chorus are pretty cool.
9. Murder By Numbers (*2 out of 5*)
This is quite possibly the worst track on the CD. Its still going with the repetative theme of anger and heavy riffs into this song. The guitars have a couple moments in this song, but the rest is not good at all. The vocals especially are a letdown. Overall, just a very unorganized song.
10. Dead Like Me (*2.5 out of 5*)
Another generic song filled with anger and heavy riffs. The vocals are pretty good on this song, but the lyrics aren't, which balances it out to about an average rating.
11. Shadow Walker (*3 out of 5*)
Another song with lots of anger, but the change that is evident is that it seems like more emotion is put it. The guitar parts are pretty decent at some points. Also a very short song. The end of the most boring part of the album.
12. Revenge I Seek (*5 out of 5*)
This song is completely filled with anger. More anger than the other eleven tracks on this CD combined. You can feel it in the vocals, guitars, drums; everything. They definitley put a lot of effort into this song. It also starts off with another excerpt from "Boondock Saints". It also finishes the CD with the hatred that is felt throughout and with the talent of the opening song.
Bleeding Through isn't technically one of the most talented bands in metalcore, but some of their songs (Love Lost, City of the Condemned) show that they definitley have potential to be better than they are. The main flaw is their repetativeness; they need much more variety, and better guitar-work (which from City of the Condemned, we can clearly see they would be able to pull soemthing off). Its an album worth checking out, but don't expect anything completely amazing.
Recommended Tracks
+ Love Lost In A Hail Of Gunfire
+ On Wings of Lead
+ City of the Condemned
+ Revenge I Seek
Bleeding Through is...
Brandan Schieppati- Vocals
Scott Danough- Guitar
Brian Leppke- Guitar
Ryan Wombacher- Bass
Derek Youngsma- Drums
Marta- Keyboards
