As much as I love heavy music, I find that the genre as a whole can be difficult to find truly unique artists. There are always a gaggle of fresh bands with the same sound (See: New Wave of American Heavy Metal or Djent) while established bands are struggling to stay established by either following the new trend popular, or repeatedly releasing the same album as a way to stay true to their roots, or not sell out, or not try new things, or something. So when a band comes along with a sound unlike any I’ve ever heard, I can’t help but thing, “FINALLY, something completely different.”
For some strange reason the first few weeks of January always present a slew of artists and albums that I missed from the previous year. This year was no different. Following a long evening of Bandcamp surfing and fancy beer I found myself on the page of a band called No Spill Blood.
No Spill Blood are an Irish three-piece super-group, of sorts, that consists of bassist/vocalist Matt Hedigan of Elk, drummer Lar Kaye of Adebisi Shank and keyboards by Ruadhan O’Meara of Magic Pockets. The band formed in late 2011 and while none of their other projects are terribly “metal,” their powers combined create something that has an unmistakable attitude and an unbelievable creativity that I can only describe as “metal.”
As of now, the band sadly only has the EP I drunkenly cyber-stumbled across, Street Meat, which consists of 6 tracks that sound like if High On Fire threw away their guitar and had a genre-bending love child with Death From Above 1979. Another way to label them, if I must, would be to compare them to current-era Torche but with extra aggression and Genghis Tron keyboards. It’s the perfect blend between headbanging fuzzed-out sludge and danceable noise punk.
Tracks like “Good Company” and “No Retreat” are the perfect examples of the bands potential.
If I had come across Street Meat earlier it would have been in the running for my best of 2012 list, but alas, I was late to the No Spill Blood party.
Check out Street Meat by No Spill Blood via Sargent House Records on the band’s Bandcamp and like the band on Facebook
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KWU8g9jAdo[/youtube]
For more interviews, articles, metal ramblings and musings, like Far Beyond Metal onFacebook and listen to Far Beyond Metal on KSSU.com
