Release Date: 17th March 2021
Record Label: Adventure Cat Records
For Fans Of: While She Sleeps, Slipknot, KoRn
The title says it all: Fuck Everything. Fuelled with pure rage from the off and befitting the collective title to a T, Liverpool outfit Death Blooms are back with their third EP, bringing the heavy and an opportunity to take sixteen or so minutes out of your day to really let off a bit of steam. To say ‘fuck everything’ is exactly that, to throw caution to the wind and relinquish your responsibilities and associations. To let yourself go for a while and disconnect from the anguish around you. It is this anguish of the present situation that the EP speaks (or angrily shouts) out about, letting us know that we are not on our own and that there is nothing wrong wrong with feeling this way about it all.
Two years on from their last EP You Are Filth, Death Blooms present another helping of their nostalgic nu-metal high school throwback sound and bring in plenty of that teenage angst which is perfect for brightening up another mundane afternoon stuck at home. Singles ‘Life Is Pain’ and ‘Anger’ from the upcoming collective cause quite a stir last year and resulted in a spot on November’s debut Pulse Of The Maggots online fest, providing a well-deserved platform for the band. To be chosen by the Slipknot camp and placed on a line-up full of twenty well regarded bands such as Hacktivist and Tallah is no mean feat yet these songs vindicate this. Fuck Everything is very tightly knit and succinct, getting its point across with next to no filler and provoking the reaction that puts you on the same wavelength as the artist. Connectivity is a key element in a collection of songs covering such topics and boy, does this connect.
Paul Barrow’s vocals convey raw frustration and hurt exacerbated by the events of the last year which will be very relatable to many. Linked up with a breadth of exciting nu-metal riffage and drum patterns, we have a collection of songs that are very difficult to sit through without at least s0me kind of movement. This EP comes in, kicks at your heels, gets you hacked off and ready to move. This being said, there is a satisfying balanced feel to the EP, with some softer vocals reminiscent of the likes of KoRn or Slipknot. Utilised almost as a cry for help, this adds an emotive dimension to the cause and couples deftly with the furious mayhem that sparks the match and sets the blaze alight. It’s angry, but with class.
You only have to take a look at the individual track titles to get a sense of the mood surrounding the EP. A rather bleak and scathing review of the way things have been going in recent months is evident. After all, what can be better than some anti-establishment sentiments to get a metal crowd going? Although for now we’ll have to settle with listening at home, these songs are bound to be the catalyst for the release of some serious resentment for those who feel they have been wronged when they’re finally able to be unleashed in front of a live audience.
As has been the case for all of Death Blooms’ releases to date, this is a short, sweet punch delivered with devastating effect which leaves a yearning for more. The only possible complaint is that there isn’t more to delve into but for now, this will do very nicely.
Rating: 9/10
Recommended tracks: Gore, Anger, Fuck Everything
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