Another band we’ve been following for some time is Bloodshot Dawn, purveyors of very heavy technical death/thrash. They recently released Reanimation, the follow-up to Demons but featuring a largely new line-up. Surviving founder member Josh McMorran wrote the songs, with the help of new bandmate Morgan Reid. Is it possible that Reid’s influence has ensured the band will hit his homeland of Canada for the first time later this year? When they do, they’ve got a cracking album to support.
Reanimation doesn’t mess around. Anywhere. From “Seared Earth” to “Reanimated” itself, there’s not a dull patch. Guitars shred and wail, the drums pound and thrash and the bass rhythm keeps everything tied together. The technical side of things, something I often shy away from as it sounds too much like someone dropping nails on the guitar strings, is downplayed ensuring that the simple brutality of each track shines through.
There’s plenty of experimentation and varying guitar sounds throughout, to the point where some of the leads on “Graviton Nightmare” or intro to “Survival Evolved”, for example, wouldn’t sound out of place on a Satriani album. I doubt Chickenfoot Joe would ramp the pace up to the extent of the rest of the tracks though.
When the tracks don’t pummel, they shred. When they don’t shred, they bite. This is music that makes you want to destroy the room you’re sat in. From the muted thrash intro of “Controlled Conscious” to the doomy emotiveness of oddball track “DNA Requisition”, Bloodshot Dawn have put together a great collection.
Having witnessed Bloodshot Dawn live, I know they’re a band who can pull this stuff off on stage and they just need a good sound setup to ensure the crowd gets the aural pummelling they deserve to make the most of these new songs. Just make sure the venues warn A&E first…
The band are on the road in the UK right now so try and catch them if you can:
- 19/01/18 – Boiler Room, Guildford
- 20/01/18 – The Underground, Plymouth
- 21/01/18 – Fuel Rock Club, Cardiff
- 22/01/18 – The Flapper, Birmingham
- 23/01/18 – Audio, Glasgow
- 24/01/18 – The Fulford Arms, York
- 25/01/18 – The Peer Hat, Manchester
- 26/01/18 – An Spailpin Fanach, Cork
- 27/01/18 – Limelight, Belfast
- 28/01/18 – On The Rox, Dublin
Bloodshot Dawn: facebook | myspace | youtube | bigcartel | bandcamp