The members of Roseblood sound like brutal maniacs on their August 2018 release No One Here Gets Out Alive — and in this context, that’s a compliment, for the unfamiliar. The band takes a very no-nonsense approach to brutal metal on the release’s five tracks, which burst and seethe with cutting musical fury. The band sounds like they’ve captured some of the fury and overall intensity that must define their live performances and, more broadly, that of the live performances that keep their invitingly crazy corner of the heavy music community going too. It’s a rather immersive experience to press play, and it’s one that’s going to keep the right listener coming back.
On the release, furious instrumentation has a curiously prominent position. At times, thanks to various production processes and any number of other variables, other bands’ releases feature either the vocals as inescapable or overwhelming the instrumentation and sometimes taking center stage. It works, mostly — in those instances, the vocals and instrumental parts have a give and take relationship — but that’s not the path Roseblood chose on No One Here Gets Out Alive. The members’ prowess as heavy musicians mostly takes center stage, allowing the music to blossom into something more than just another heavy music recording. Instead — as mentioned previously — the band captures some of that live spirit and rests their release upon it. Each part, including the vocals, contributes to the whole rather than demanding the listener’s full attention and distracting from a broader experience.
Roseblood’s interpretation of metal sounds completely unhindered. Like a sprawling live performance, they brutally blast ahead throughout their fall 2018 EP, allowing the listener to experience heavy music in all its fury. There are no real side quests or backtracks here — there’s no stopping to think. Roseblood sounds precisely sure of what they’re here to do on No One Here Gets Out Alive, and you’d be sorely wrong to imagine they’re going to let anything hold them back. The band presses right on through in a performance that ends up lasting less than 12 minutes, despite running through the aforementioned five tracks. They’re blasting all of their fury out at once and leaving the listener spinning.
5/5 Stars
Check it out below on Spotify.
You may also like
-
“Omar Barquet: Oracles” at Yancey Richardson in New York: Art Exhibition Review
-
“Tania Franco Klein: Long Story Short” at Yancey Richardson in New York: Art Exhibition Review
-
“Martha Jackson Jarvis: What The Trees Have Seen II” at Susan Inglett Gallery: Art Exhibition Review
-
“Bill Scott: Two Decades” at Hollis Taggart, New York: Art Exhibition Review
-
“Andrea Geyer: Manifest” at Hales, New York: Art Exhibition Review