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BLOODLETTER “Leave The Light Behind”
BLOODLETTER “Leave The Light Behind”
By Theron Moore
BLOODLETER released their latest album, “Leave The Light Behind”, July 25 via Wise Blood Records. I’ve never doubted this band in terms of their ability to destroy eardrums with solid metal riffing, I do question their creative / artistic ability to elevate to the next level of metal greatness to set them apart from other bands in the thrash genre. This sets up the question that will drive this review. Is “Leave The Light Behind” the record that jumps them up?
As vocalist/guitarist Pete Carparelli explains, “This time around we wanted to take the melodic riffing from our “Funeral Hymns” record and the brute force and speed of “A Different Kind of Hell” and really blend the two more,. We wanted to shoot for more grandiose and dramatic arrangements, while still keeping the elements of the core BLOODLETTER sound…"
As far as melodic, speedy, thrash goes, “Leave The Light Behind” succeeds, BLOODLETTER are clearly good at what they do. The problem I have though, is I want more thrash and less melody. I want more down and dirty metal and less “grandiose and dramatic arrangements…” I want raw, gritty music that cuts you deep and draws blood, unapologetically. I didn’t get that with this record.
Tracks two and three, “Blackened Wings” and “Eternal Winter” sounded similar. Much of the music throughout this record seemed like it was following a set, predictable formula I’ve heard before. As odd as this may sound, I didn’t hate or even dislike this record, I expected more and either didn’t find it or couldn’t find it.
I dug the tracks “Hunting Horror,” “Call Of The Deep One,” and “The Burial” but “Leave The Light Behind” never got into my head and left me wanting more. I was hoping for more musical progression from past releases by BLOODLETTER but didn’t get it. Do I recommend “Leave The Light Behind”? I think if you’re a BLOODLETTER fan or dig melodic thrash you’ll enjoy this disc. For me though, I’ll pass, it’s not for me.
3/5 Stars
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