As Blood Runs Black long awaited third and final album titled “Ground Zero” is finally here and is ready to blow your ears out and melt your face off (in a good way of course). The album was released 10/27/14 and tracks at 33 minutes of pure pandemonium and perplexing riffs, drums, grooves, and vocals. As Blood Runs Black has gone through a manifold of problematic issues that has halted the bands progress such as losing their vocalist and being dropped from their label which almost lead to them breaking up for good prematurely. Despite the bands setbacks they decided to push on and found a new vocalist by the name of Chris Bartholomew. As Blood Runs Black started a crowdfunding project through Indiegogo to raise enough to money to write and create their final album and due to the overwhelming amount of support from fans, the band was able to make this album become a reality. Now the real question you have to ponder is does it live up to the hype it has been garnering since July? Now it is time to find out!
Let’s start off with the artwork of “Ground Zero”, the artwork is extremely well done and detailed down to the tee. A good example of this is the man with wings on the cover and the city in the background. You can vividly see the bleakness in man’s eyes, the individual scales on both of his wings, and the ashes of the city looming behind him and on his chest and wings. The city behind the man looks disintegrated and desolated with no signs of life in sight. The album cover truly relates back to how the album sounds; harsh, wicked, and completely relentless until the record stops playing.
“City Limits” - The opening track of the record wastes no time in getting straight to the mayhem. The song starts out with a very presto riff and furious blast beats which stay at a consistent fast speed for the majority of the song. The vocals in the song get right in your face by Chris screaming the lyrics right at you in a brisk and frantic fashion, Chris also shows off his vocal dexterity by not only being able to hit guttural lows and but also being able to hit screeching highs throughout the entire song. The second half of the song has the instruments and vocals slows down to play a breakdown that starts off at a moderate speed and becomes slower as the song progresses to the very end. At this point you can perfectly hear the bass synched up with the guitars and you can hear the first gang vocals on the album as well. For an opening track it’s good and will catch the attention of the listener due to its fierce instrumentation and vocals.
Rating 7/10
“Insomniac” - The first single off the album starts out very similarly to the opening track with an assault of technical guitar riffs,drum beats,and relentless vocals. Chris shows off his vocal range by switching from mid growls to high screams with ease. Gang vocals and backup vocals are also thrown in at points throughout the song between Chris’s vocals growls and screams which is a small and unique touch! The guitars in some sections of the song are very melodic and absolutely deliver when it comes to the breakdowns of the song. The small guitar solos in the song are also another small but brilliant touch that builds atmosphere! They may not be the fastest or most technical but they sound pretty epic and swell which makes up for it lacking in those departments! The orchestral break near the end of the song fabricates a feeling of despair and hopeless to the atmosphere of the song and then crashes down for the last breakdown of song to intensify it one last time.
Rating: 8/10
“Ground Zero” - The title track starts off with an assault of snare drum and fills that fully displays Leche drumming flair. Chris starts off with a very long high scream that lasts an impressive 17 seconds. The beginning of the song also shows off Nick and Dan’s profound guitar playing as well! The song then cuts to a semi fast breakdown where the bass can be distinctly heard amongst the guitars. The guitars then transition to a more melodic riff and proceed into a neat sounding guitar solo until going into another technical and swift guitar riff. The next section of the song is basically recycled and reused from the first half of the song until the end where the instruments echo and fade out into nothingness. The song doesn’t really break any ground or out of the mold it has created from the last track, but doesn’t go down in quality heavily.
Rating: 7/10
“Vision” - This song starts off a lot differently with Chris’s voice being muffled and him speaking to the listener instead of screaming to them. The guitars and bass are muffled as well giving it a more hardcore like sound. After this introduction the track goes back to the rapid and enraged sound that the rest of the album has demonstrated till now. The vocals take a different turn and start to have a more hardcore influence placed onto them which is very refreshing and invigorating to hear. The guitars also become very melodic and have an old school metalcore tone to them as well (which like the vocals is a treat to hear)! Halfway through the song you hear a very nimble guitar solo leading into a chorus with clean vocals, this is very much a change of pace on the album. The song then goes into a quick breakdown until reaching the chorus once again where it shifts to a down tempo breakdown with a melodic guitar playing in the background. It’s definitely one of the most eccentric tracks on the album that is very much worth checking out!
Rating: 8.5/10
“All or Nothing” - The second single off the album begins with a very harmonic guitar riff with Chris conducting talky like vocals in background which transfers over into mid growls not too long after. The song breaks into a moderate speed breakdown and switches between the same breakdown shown here and a convoluted guitar riff with hair triggering drums until the end of the song. The grooviness of the bass can be heard during the parts between the breakdowns which is a stellar touch added to the song. Near the end of the track, the band decides to play soft interlude where the guitars soften up and plays a majestic riff, the drums begin to ease up by playing a laid back mellow beat, and the bass lines are very funky and sensational which helps break up the commotion of the song. This interlude is ended by a pretty sounding and technical guitar solo that leads back into the general sound of the song until the track ends. The bass and the interlude of the song diversify the track from the rest of the songs on the album so far but still stays within its mold and doesn’t break away from it.
Rating: 7/10
“Chapters” - The song has a very 90s grunge feel to it throughout where the guitar sounds very watery and have an echo to them. Mid way through the song, a intricate guitar solo is placed in with the watery riff in the background which really sounds breathtaking until the very end. The bass is also super groovy and can be heard throughout the entity of the track.The drums sound very gentle and stay simplistic for the whole song with nothing too crazy to them. It may just be an instrumental track but it’s totally worth checking out and listening to!
Rating: 9/10
“An Oath” - This track has a very feelsy vibe to it that really tugs at your heart strings when you listen to it! The fluffy guitar riffs,the clean vocals,and the soothing synthesizer will most definitely make you feel something when the song concludes. The clean vocals on the chorus really does give the song a vehementing feeling of sadness and sorrow which really helps create the song’s atmosphere to the listener. The aggressiveness of the album is still retained in this track as the technical riffs and furious drum beats are still shown in between the choruses,the softer and heavier bits of the song just flow together perfectly. This song also features another elegant sounding guitar solo which sounds very soothing but heavy at the same time.The song gives a very old school metalcore like feel to it which you don’t hear much these days from bands in this genre which makes this track shine brightly on the album.
Rating: 9/10
“Eulogy” - The album goes back to full chaos and mayhem on this track with its barrage of fast riffs and supersonic drum beats and bass pedal. The breakdowns are nothing to take a second glance at and are very similar to what is presented on the other tracks on the album. The band does fuse the clean vocals of the song with the fleeting drums which works out nicely and flows smoothly. The track doesn’t bring anything new to the table and stays the same with not much innovation.
Rating: 6.5/10
“Limitless” - This song starts at a moderate pace with the guitar and drums starting off less barbaric than usual and then going back to their usual destructive sound. The gang vocals are back in full force and do not disappoint while the breakdowns are lackluster and don’t do anything the listener hasn’t heard before. The song is very similar to the last track even though the gang vocals do separate it, but not by much.
Rating: 7/10
“Survival Rights” - The final song of the album opens up with continuous gang vocals that leads into the actual song. During some points in the song the bass actually gets some spotlight! You can actually hear the flicking of the bass at these points which adds some flare to the song and sounds superb. The breakdowns are again very akin to rest of breakdowns on the album except with some faster chugging in there. Overall the track is ok and just sticks to the same formula seen throughout the rest of the album.
Rating: 6/10
In conclusion, As Blood Runs Black final album is a good record that fully displays the bands musical expertise and capabilities at what they can do as a band but at points lacks originality when it comes to its breakdowns and song structure. Some sections of the album will truly blow you away while others will bore you and make you want more. The album is an assault of extreme and malevolent sounds which is As Blood Runs Black’s specialty but won’t leave much of an impact after the first few play throughs. As Blood Runs Black worked very hard and went through so many endeavors to put this album out and make it the best it can possibly be and the album is solid, there is no doubt about that!
Let’s start off with the artwork of “Ground Zero”, the artwork is extremely well done and detailed down to the tee. A good example of this is the man with wings on the cover and the city in the background. You can vividly see the bleakness in man’s eyes, the individual scales on both of his wings, and the ashes of the city looming behind him and on his chest and wings. The city behind the man looks disintegrated and desolated with no signs of life in sight. The album cover truly relates back to how the album sounds; harsh, wicked, and completely relentless until the record stops playing.
“City Limits” - The opening track of the record wastes no time in getting straight to the mayhem. The song starts out with a very presto riff and furious blast beats which stay at a consistent fast speed for the majority of the song. The vocals in the song get right in your face by Chris screaming the lyrics right at you in a brisk and frantic fashion, Chris also shows off his vocal dexterity by not only being able to hit guttural lows and but also being able to hit screeching highs throughout the entire song. The second half of the song has the instruments and vocals slows down to play a breakdown that starts off at a moderate speed and becomes slower as the song progresses to the very end. At this point you can perfectly hear the bass synched up with the guitars and you can hear the first gang vocals on the album as well. For an opening track it’s good and will catch the attention of the listener due to its fierce instrumentation and vocals.
Rating 7/10
“Insomniac” - The first single off the album starts out very similarly to the opening track with an assault of technical guitar riffs,drum beats,and relentless vocals. Chris shows off his vocal range by switching from mid growls to high screams with ease. Gang vocals and backup vocals are also thrown in at points throughout the song between Chris’s vocals growls and screams which is a small and unique touch! The guitars in some sections of the song are very melodic and absolutely deliver when it comes to the breakdowns of the song. The small guitar solos in the song are also another small but brilliant touch that builds atmosphere! They may not be the fastest or most technical but they sound pretty epic and swell which makes up for it lacking in those departments! The orchestral break near the end of the song fabricates a feeling of despair and hopeless to the atmosphere of the song and then crashes down for the last breakdown of song to intensify it one last time.
Rating: 8/10
“Ground Zero” - The title track starts off with an assault of snare drum and fills that fully displays Leche drumming flair. Chris starts off with a very long high scream that lasts an impressive 17 seconds. The beginning of the song also shows off Nick and Dan’s profound guitar playing as well! The song then cuts to a semi fast breakdown where the bass can be distinctly heard amongst the guitars. The guitars then transition to a more melodic riff and proceed into a neat sounding guitar solo until going into another technical and swift guitar riff. The next section of the song is basically recycled and reused from the first half of the song until the end where the instruments echo and fade out into nothingness. The song doesn’t really break any ground or out of the mold it has created from the last track, but doesn’t go down in quality heavily.
Rating: 7/10
“Vision” - This song starts off a lot differently with Chris’s voice being muffled and him speaking to the listener instead of screaming to them. The guitars and bass are muffled as well giving it a more hardcore like sound. After this introduction the track goes back to the rapid and enraged sound that the rest of the album has demonstrated till now. The vocals take a different turn and start to have a more hardcore influence placed onto them which is very refreshing and invigorating to hear. The guitars also become very melodic and have an old school metalcore tone to them as well (which like the vocals is a treat to hear)! Halfway through the song you hear a very nimble guitar solo leading into a chorus with clean vocals, this is very much a change of pace on the album. The song then goes into a quick breakdown until reaching the chorus once again where it shifts to a down tempo breakdown with a melodic guitar playing in the background. It’s definitely one of the most eccentric tracks on the album that is very much worth checking out!
Rating: 8.5/10
“All or Nothing” - The second single off the album begins with a very harmonic guitar riff with Chris conducting talky like vocals in background which transfers over into mid growls not too long after. The song breaks into a moderate speed breakdown and switches between the same breakdown shown here and a convoluted guitar riff with hair triggering drums until the end of the song. The grooviness of the bass can be heard during the parts between the breakdowns which is a stellar touch added to the song. Near the end of the track, the band decides to play soft interlude where the guitars soften up and plays a majestic riff, the drums begin to ease up by playing a laid back mellow beat, and the bass lines are very funky and sensational which helps break up the commotion of the song. This interlude is ended by a pretty sounding and technical guitar solo that leads back into the general sound of the song until the track ends. The bass and the interlude of the song diversify the track from the rest of the songs on the album so far but still stays within its mold and doesn’t break away from it.
Rating: 7/10
“Chapters” - The song has a very 90s grunge feel to it throughout where the guitar sounds very watery and have an echo to them. Mid way through the song, a intricate guitar solo is placed in with the watery riff in the background which really sounds breathtaking until the very end. The bass is also super groovy and can be heard throughout the entity of the track.The drums sound very gentle and stay simplistic for the whole song with nothing too crazy to them. It may just be an instrumental track but it’s totally worth checking out and listening to!
Rating: 9/10
“An Oath” - This track has a very feelsy vibe to it that really tugs at your heart strings when you listen to it! The fluffy guitar riffs,the clean vocals,and the soothing synthesizer will most definitely make you feel something when the song concludes. The clean vocals on the chorus really does give the song a vehementing feeling of sadness and sorrow which really helps create the song’s atmosphere to the listener. The aggressiveness of the album is still retained in this track as the technical riffs and furious drum beats are still shown in between the choruses,the softer and heavier bits of the song just flow together perfectly. This song also features another elegant sounding guitar solo which sounds very soothing but heavy at the same time.The song gives a very old school metalcore like feel to it which you don’t hear much these days from bands in this genre which makes this track shine brightly on the album.
Rating: 9/10
“Eulogy” - The album goes back to full chaos and mayhem on this track with its barrage of fast riffs and supersonic drum beats and bass pedal. The breakdowns are nothing to take a second glance at and are very similar to what is presented on the other tracks on the album. The band does fuse the clean vocals of the song with the fleeting drums which works out nicely and flows smoothly. The track doesn’t bring anything new to the table and stays the same with not much innovation.
Rating: 6.5/10
“Limitless” - This song starts at a moderate pace with the guitar and drums starting off less barbaric than usual and then going back to their usual destructive sound. The gang vocals are back in full force and do not disappoint while the breakdowns are lackluster and don’t do anything the listener hasn’t heard before. The song is very similar to the last track even though the gang vocals do separate it, but not by much.
Rating: 7/10
“Survival Rights” - The final song of the album opens up with continuous gang vocals that leads into the actual song. During some points in the song the bass actually gets some spotlight! You can actually hear the flicking of the bass at these points which adds some flare to the song and sounds superb. The breakdowns are again very akin to rest of breakdowns on the album except with some faster chugging in there. Overall the track is ok and just sticks to the same formula seen throughout the rest of the album.
Rating: 6/10
In conclusion, As Blood Runs Black final album is a good record that fully displays the bands musical expertise and capabilities at what they can do as a band but at points lacks originality when it comes to its breakdowns and song structure. Some sections of the album will truly blow you away while others will bore you and make you want more. The album is an assault of extreme and malevolent sounds which is As Blood Runs Black’s specialty but won’t leave much of an impact after the first few play throughs. As Blood Runs Black worked very hard and went through so many endeavors to put this album out and make it the best it can possibly be and the album is solid, there is no doubt about that!