Customer Reviews

Blood Run

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am knee deep into my third listen of Blood Run. The sound is clinging to the bottom of my shoes like so much offal. Disgusting, but strangely alluring! If you enjoy Occupational Hazard, you will dig this. Vinnie's drumming seems to just get better and better. This one really swings. Dave's bass, coupled with the drumming moves this one along like a renegade trucker on a meth binge. Not too fast, but it ain't going to be stopped by your flimsy road blocks and spike strips, or by the cinder block wall at the end of the road. Spencer's vocals are what you want to hear. If anything, his guitar tones are even bigger and deeper than we have heard. The production is crystalline...Tracks 3 and 5 are damn good. Cover and liner notes are suitable for an UNSANE release, and are nothing that I needed to see, but saw any way.

Unsane have been defining underground hardcore and noise metal for a decade and a half, and if you want harsh and brutal music, they're your miscreants. (Not to mention, check out this album's reassuringly gruesome artwork, featuring a naked woman clawing her way out of a bathtub full of blood.) While maturity and experience, not to mention real musical chops, have added some variety and dynamics to the Unsane sound, they're still among the roughest, dirtiest, lowdownest moshpit dictators around. The riffs and grooves on this album are big and grueling like the best of sludge metal, but the clinical, straight-arrow drumming of Vincent Signorelli brings things back underground to the dirty heart of hardcore. As for the songs, Unsane's faster full-on assaults can be a bit interchangeable, but things get especially interesting when they slow things down a bit, to the pace of a drawn-out brutal beating, like in "Killing Time" and "Hammered Out." There is also a surprising amount of creativity and songwriting prowess in the extra-atonal "Make Them Prey" and the bass-driven aggro of "Latch." Even though Unsane are becoming hardcore veterans of the respected elder statesmen type, they can still bludgeon their listeners with more skill, experience, and downright harsh aggression than skatepunks half their age. [~doomsdayer520~]

OK, so I'm the first to review this album...I've listened to it critically about 3 times. This album is probably hard and angry as anything they've done. And let me say that Dave Curran has the most evil, violent sounding bass setup in the world. There are some classic sounding Unsane songs and some songs that have some new elements. I like the direction the music is going. My reviews don't do the album justice. You need to sample these songs. If you don't want to read my song by song, I'll save you some time. Sample songs 3, 4, 6, and 7 and you will be sold. Overall this album is definetly worth owning, I'll go through song by song:
1) Backslide- This is a typical, classic sounding Unsane song, nothing out of the ordinary for them. It's heavy, but to me its a little draggy to open the album with. Don't get me wrong, it's good, but not a good opener. 7/10
2) Release- Another classic sounding Unsane song, on the more aggressive side. Fairly average, not outstanding. 7/10
3) Killing Time- This song is f**king awesome. Easily my favorite on the album. Great array of sounds from the guitar, The vocals sound awesome, I think its Dave and Chris both singing. Cool lyrics. Sounds a little different than anything they've done. Can't say enuff about this one. 10/10
4) Got it Down- Another great song. Pretty clean sounding, more on the Players Clubbish side. Cool lyrics. Instrumentally kickass all around. Groovy song. 10/10
5) Make them Prey- Dirtier sounding song. I don't know about this song, I'm not really digging it much. I don't like the lyrics much, maybe I'm just not getting the point. This one is probably my least favorite on the album. 5/10
6) Hammered Out- Awesome slow, grinding heavy song with pretty cool lyrics. 10/10
7) D Train- I like this one a lot. It's fast and loud...Get on the f**king Train. Turn this one up. 10/10
8) Anything- Not digging this one. It's a groovier song, decent, but not special... 6/10
9) Recovery- A good song for being this deep into the album. Cool guitar intro. Starts out kinda Rockabillyish, then turns into the classic Unsane sound we all know and love. Vocals sound really good on this one. I like it. 8/10
10) Latch- Bass guitar stands out on this song, awesome. But the rest of the sound on this song is kinda thin. Its ok, not a barnburner though. 7/10.
11) Dead Weight- Cool Lyrics, only 8 words, drags on a bit, but overall, a good song to end the album with. 7/10

unsane's "bloodrun" is probably the most innovative slab of simple groove ridden chunky surfer metal out on the market today.the album is just phenominal in its power to take hold of the listener in such a way that he or she begins to feel over bearing (in a good way)bombardment of unrelentless chunky sidewinder riffage..the opening track is deffinatly my personal favorite,but the entire album as a whole is just incredible...

Unsane has managed to retain all the aggressive and relentless grit that has made all their other albums so great on this one. Blood Run does a great job of delivering the heavy distortion (on just about everything except the drums) and classic timing shifts and sludgy grooves as all their albums. It's safe to say that some new territory was explored, but nothing that detracts from the overall feel of the band. This album is proof that real scary metal isnt dependent on speed, technicality or production value, but rather the raw and undeniable aggression that makes this trio one of the hardest acts out now (or ever). This band does a good job at evoking emotions of real terror and danger unlike a lot of metal being made today that is more concerned with their clothes or hair. Unsane is the creepy guy in dirty work clothes in the corner at a hip scenster party and you gotta love em for it. Definitly pick this one up (along with the others) if you like Toadies but always thought they could use more screaming.

After the 1st two songs I wasn't too sure, but after listening to the whole album I was happy that I bought it. I remember seeing the skrape video back in the day and I just recently got back into metal even though UNSANE cannot be stereotyped. Strong album from the packaging to the last drop of the album. (get it) I wish the vocals were more audible but I guess thats not the main draw of the album.

More muscle than their previous offering Occupational Hazard! Didnt know if they were coming back after their last one. So glad they did, I have many fond memories of these guys, and this album was everything I hoped it would be. Crunchy, angry riffs and vocals, and some tight beats. Key tracks include Make Them Prey, D Train, Anything, Latch, and Release. These guys are so underrated, give them your money and ears, you wont be disappointed.

Sick and twisted artwork and the music drives, thats how I like the Unsane. After 6 years these guys are back with Blood Run in 05' and I'm lovin' it. March 07' they are due for another release.

Although they don't see themselves as a Metal band, they have all the aggression, all the intensity and all of the attitude that it's hard not to call them a Metal band. I guess they're a band that can fit into quite a few genre's pretty comfortably anyway. I've known of Unsane for years now, reading bits and pieces about them here and there, but up until recently (In the past year or so) i haven't been able to hear what they sound like. Then i downloaded the song 'Release', Track 2 off this album, and it really made me sit back and go "Damn..". Not that it's totally mindblowing, or it's the most amazing song ever or anything..but it's a damn good aggressive song, a song that'd be awesome to mosh to at one of their concerts.

So this album is obviously my 1st Unsane album, but i hope it's not my last. For me, the first time i listened to this i listened all the way through and by the end of it i wanted to listen again. The first track, "Backslide", was stuck in my head for days. Another reviewer said that it's not a very good opener, but to me it's an awesome opener and leads perfectly into the faster-paced/in-your-face song "Release". From there, it just gets better i think..and with every listen it gets more enjoyable too. Most of the album moves kind of slowly, providing a very cool atmosphere which is kinda scary, kinda moody and violent and full of frustration and tension. My favorite song would have to be "Dead Weight", which is a perfect example for the kind of atmosphere i'm describing. Very moody track, and slow-moving, with good riffs and cool vocals. Just over 7 minutes long too.

This is an amazing album, and would surely please all fans of Unsane and even win new fans like me too. I'd love to see them Live, or even see them on DVD or something, in the future. If you're a fan of bands like Helmet, Floor, Buried Inside, High on Fire or even The Jesus Lizard, you'll probably like Unsane. Those bands, in my opinion, not only sound somewhat similar in style, but they share the same sort of energy and intensity to some extent. If you're new to Unsane, but not sure if you'll like them, be sure to check out the Relapse Records website (Which is home to many great bands by the way) and download for free the song "Release" from there. That's what i did, and then put "Blood Run" in my must-get albums list. \m/