BLOODCLOT are an American Supergroup featuring a set of legendary musicians from the Hardcore as well Rock scenes; so if you are a fan of
DANZIG or
CRO-MAGS then you will most certainly enjoy this band and this particular record. To show their classic blend of Hard Rock and Hardcore
BLOODCLOT released a 13 track masterpiece entitled
Up In Arms this year through
Metal Blade Records.“Up In Arms” kicks off with the title track which maintains ruthlessly for about 4 minutes. The opening riff is catchy and we get a typical blast beat structure that is employed by most Punk bands. The vocals are pretty neat and perfectly trace the instrumentation. This is a perfect song to kick off an album as it is melodic as well aggressive at the same time. After a good enough starter, the course gets even more grand with a killer track such as “
Fire” being second on the menu. The track is insanely catchy and will leave you in a mindset where you can't do anything other than repeat the same song over and over again. Being a drummer myself I can't stop Idolising
Joey’s simplicity and technicality. Former
DANZIG and
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE drummer steals the show with simple yet tight blast beats and ideal fills. While listening to the album at its entirety I learnt a lot of new drum fills, which comes in handy for a self taught drummer such as myself.
Mostly all of the tracks on this album are catchy and addictive. With
Joseph on vocals the choruses are executed perfectly whilst the verses showcase a little bit of aggression. One amongst the most interesting songs on this album is “
Siva/Rudra”; keeping the Hindu God as its name this song is a strong contender for the best track. Catchy yet different chorus chants, harmonic guitar solos and thunderous drumming making the song perfect and at ceases with a chaotic outro. “
Kali” is another track that is worth mentioning.
Kali is actually translated as anger in my native language. “
Kali” proved that just one minute is enough for these guys to slay a track. The album ends with another killer track, “
You'll be the Death Of Me”, where yet again the infamous
DANZIG guitarist
Todd delivers a catchy and melodic guitar riff which compliments the vocals delivered by
Joseph.
Overall, this is a perfect album altogether. Produced by
Zeuss (
MUNICIPAL WASTE) the album sounds perfect and tight. Even though the album resembles the polished production found in most of the modern bands’ records, it keeps a natural sound while doing it. Through “
Up In Arms”,
BLOODCLOT executes a perfect blend of Hard Rock and Hardcore Punk. This groovy yet aggressive album is a must purchase and reflects why they are nominated as the breakthrough band of the year in
Loudwire Awards. With everything that’s been said I thoroughly enjoyed this album and I will make sure to vote for them in the same category.
Songwriting: 9
Originality: 9
Memorability: 10Production: 10