Come On In, The Water's Fine...

Blood Red Water - All The Ills Of Mankind (2013)

Don't clean out your ears, that's just the hum and fuzz blasting off of Blood Red Water's guitars. Finding their way to our emails once again, Blood Red Water are back with their sophomore effort, All The Ills Of Mankind, which seems to encapsulate the best parts of their earlier work without sounding too redundant. More and more, Italy is finding itself at the forefront of the sludge movement these days, and Blood Red Water is quickly claiming their stake as kings of the scene.

On their second album, the band sticks to a similar vocal structure, stressing growls and barks spliced with animalistic force that really gets the message across: this band is tough as nails. Musically, cleanliness has gone right out the window, which is for the better. From start to finish, All The Ills Of Mankind, is a mix of reverb and distortion, blips and pops that generate a dark atmosphere and hold a heavier tone than the more bluesy, stoner sound the band once presented.

Opening track "A Ride In The Funhouse" starts out a little sluggish, but, once it gets going, there is no stopping the ferocity. Drop chords boom and dirty drums crash forth over and over, unrelenting yet surprisingly rhythmic given the nature of the music. Strained vocals and a mild guitar slide round out the track and lead the album into the slower, methodical sound that serves as the more common element throughout the remainder of the effort.

The meat of the record is perhaps the most fun part of the listening experience, even seeing an audio sample from the film Mulholland Drive (a David Lynch joint that is weirder than shit), and a bit more peddle effect and string arrangement experimentation. "The Outstanding Loss" and "Bad Trip In A Toxic Mind" are placed back-to-back perfectly, creating the strongest 11 minutes of the album. Full of muscle and passion, both tracks stand out as the true highlights.

With no sign of slowing down anytime soon, Blood Red Water is sure to keep fans of sludge well-stocked for the foreseeable future. Here's hoping it will be even more fantastic than what we'v eheard so far.

~Joe

For Fans Of; Eyehategod, Saint Vitus, Trenches, Grief

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All The Ills Of Mankind (320 kbps)

Sludge Is Thicker Than Water...

Blood Red Water - Tales Of Addiction And Despair (2011)

Continuing our dirty, sludgy tour of Europe's metal scene once again, and today we're back in Italy.
Formed in the middle of 2010 by long time friends and drinking buddies Michelle (vocals) and Florica (drums), Blood Red Water was spawned simply from the mutual love of sludge. Now joined by Volt and Dodi on strings the band had finally taken shape and the jams soon began to flow. Not content with just being dumped into the mix of other sludge bands, the guys and gal consciously aimed to produce a varied and eclectic mix of the genre. Rightfully so too, sliding effortlessly through elements of doom, stoner, hardcore and sludge the end result incorporates all the merciless ferocity of the likes of Eyehategod with that down tuned groove you get from bands like Goatsnake and Sourvein. That topped with a good production and relatively clean sounding mix makes for quite a well received breath of fresh air. Sure, it sounds like a simple enough formula on paper, but there just doesn't seem to be too many groups taking this approach of recent.
So if you're looking for something heavy as sin and angrier than the Hulk with a parking ticket to kick your week off look no further, these Italian's have got it nailed!

~ Jay

For Fans Of; Eyehategod, Buzzov*en, Grief, Saint Vitus, Trenches

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Tales Of Addiction And Despair (320kbps)