Customer Reviews

Seraphim Fall

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

 

 

It's a crime that such a brilliant slab of "evil-core" should languish here at the bottom of the barrel, never in all my life have I heard such a stunningly evil record, this album makes Slayer, Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, and Emperor sound like mongoloid, quadropalegic, school children who were born without eyelids and lips.

In stark contrast to their earlier works, Bloodlet delve into the realms of metal explored by Sabbath and, more currently, bands like Today is the Day and Neurosis. Bloodlet, however, are far more creative than Sabbath, less chaotic and more groove-oriented than TitD, and most certainly on par with Neurosis. This album reflects Bloodlet's ever-evolving sound and almost completely leaves their hardcore roots at the wayside. From the first few seconds of the CD, the listener experiences the unique recording approach that Bloodlet has taken, especially with the guitar textures. The songs themselves are absolutely phenomenal, especially the hip-hop-influenced "Shoot the Pig" and "Lamentations". They gracefully move in and out of odd time signatures while retaining a solid groove, an element that many bands attempt that very few successfully pull off. Bloodlet does so with "The Seraphim Fall" in an excitingly artistic manner. The only downside to the album at all is the recording of the drums, which may be an upside to others. The toms are louder than what is normal for a recording of this type and the snare has a flatter tone than that of "Entheogen". However, this is a must for persons interested in music which defies tradition and experiments with all aspects of musical production and songwriting.

Own the Eclectic album as a purist. Own Entheogen as a barnacle clinging to the Titanic. Own The Seraphim Fall as a member of the faith. Don't own Three Humid Nights in the Cypress Tree. Sorry Steve Albini... I'll calm down, but I'm shaking.

Blooodlet's second full-length, "The Seraphim Fall," is so dense-sounding that audible chord progressions can barely escape it: Art Legere's bass and Matt Easley's guitar rumble forward (and sideways, and diagonally) at tuneless lows, sealed in by an everpresent but subtle haze of textured noise. Unsettling segues -- an acoustic-guitar passage here; a vocal skit or series of electronic blips there -- are the only clues that tracks have ended; otherwise, "Seraphim" is a ceaseless progression of twisted guitar riffs, crooked time signatures, "spooky" samples, and hissing electronics. Even though his monotonous Cookie Monster roar tends to distract from the music's complexity, Scott Angelacos' metaphor-rich lyrics unleash plenty of morbid images; and despite some naive "stream-of-consciousness" rants and blurry juxtapositions, the depression and psychological scars they depict are some of the darkest things here.

While I agree the lead singer does need some work, the musicianship and general song structure is great. I especially like how they go from one time signature to the other with no regard. A other great aspect is how they build the next song around the beats of the last song. Simply AMAZING!!

I think this album is awesome! Couldn't be better!!!

Bloodlet is not for the ordinary hardcore listener. If you like to listen to most of the dribble that comes out of the hardcore scene today you will not understand this album. With exception of Coalesce, and Damnation AD, Bloodlet is is the only hardcore band willing to do something different in music.

My tolerance for metal just took a plunge.

While I give this album some points for its high level of creepiness, the singer sounds like a Tie-fighter... Not a bad thing for the first song or two, but after a while this really sounds lame.

Being hard never sounded so silly.