Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Of The Best Metal Albums Of The Year, October 8, 2005
Bloodsimple are an oasis in a heavy music scene full of lifeless clones and senseless noise. I hope I'm not alone in the assessment that metal is in desperate need of something outstanding, something with some heart. Enter Bloodsimple. At the core of the group are former Vision Of Disorder vocalist and guitarist Tim Williams and Mike Kennedy, respectively, so right off the bat, I knew this was gonna be a great project. What I didn't expect is how diverse and unique the music would be. Bloodsimple go a long way to establish a sound all their own, while still managing to satisfy any V.O.D. fan willing to give this a listen. But the best part is, Bloodsimple refuse to be confined in one genre.
"A Cruel World" is Bloodsimple's debut, and a mighty one it is. The band pushes and pulls it's way between styles in all eleven tracks, going to heavy extremes, such as "Blood In, Blood Out," "Path To Prevail" and the crushing opener, and first single, "Straight Hate" (no, not a Sepultura cover). At the same time, however, they manage to show an incredible sense of melody. Songs like "Plunder," "Flatlined," and especially "The Leaving Song" (no, not an A.F.I. cover) show Bloodsimple's advantage over their contemporaries. Their overall sound is a brute combination of both classic and (of course) nu metal, with a bit of grunge, and without a doubt, an abundance of hardcore. Fans of any kind of heavy music will be won over by "A Cruel World."
If I had to find a flaw in all of it, I'd say the fact that it runs too short, at only eleven tracks, the listen just breezes by. But I guess that's ok, as it is always an entertaining listen. Also, the track "Falling Backwards," which is good in it's own right, feels a bit tacked on. This song features Mudvayne frontman Chad Grey, who uncoincidentally signed the group to his own imprint label, and is obviously intended to appeal to Mudvayne fans who may be willing to invest in this album. I like Mudvayne, but I think I would have picked this up regardless of what names are attached with it, or who appears on the album. All that aside, rest assured, "A Cruel World" is a worthy find.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Variance of styles breaks up the monotony..., June 12, 2006
Anyone who gave this a one star review is either obsessed with categorizing music or just can't appreciate great musicians. One of the things i enjoyed the most about this disc is that it cant be tossed into any single category.Its definately metal/hardcore on songs such as "Straight Hate" and "What If I Lost It" but shows a much more melodic side on "The Leaving Song". Overall a great album that can be enjoyed by a wide range of listeners from those who enjoy Trivium, and Breaking Benjamin to listeners of Hardcore Metal who like Obituary, Hate Eternal, Nevermore, and DevilDriver.
P.S. I listen to all of the bands I just mentioned so check them out If you like this album.
Get it in your deck as soon as possible.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you like V.O.D., read this..., March 16, 2006
As soon as i found out V.O.D. broke up and formed this new band w/ other members, i just knew i had to buy the cd... I bought the cd online w/o even listening to any songs (which i rarely do).. Just got the cd in and i gave it a few listens. Starts off really good, and hard, makes you feel like you're listening to V.O.D. again... some of the tracks on this cd are really good like that... hard just like some tracks off past V.O.D. albums "For The Bleeders", & "From Bliss to Devastation", while others are soft to soft-core. The softcore ones are def. radio friendly, and don't have hardly any vulgarity in them. The softcore ones almost sound like the group called VAST. Then there are some really soft ones where Williams sings on it and it almost sounds like something that should be played on a station that plays light rock groups like Finger 11, or Nickelback, or pop groups (no offense to the fans of bands i mentioned, they're just light compared to bands like Metallica or V.O.D.). I think what Bloodsimple wanted to do w/ this cd was to cater to all crowds (music genre's), which they def. achieve. They def. broke some genre boundaries by doing so.. Most reviews i've read don't support the change that Williams is trying to make by doing this. I am a hardcore V.O.D. fan (I've got a tattoo of them on my body), and as a hardcore V.O.D. fan i say the following: I support their change in them wanting to get into something new. They took a risk on doing it, so far it seems to be working out for them. They've been doing great on their tour w/ Disturbed. I do miss them touring w/ other hardcore acts like they used to when they were V.O.D. but the new stuff from Bloodsimple is pretty damn good, even some of the light stuff is good.. There are a couple songs that aren't quite my ear yet, but maybe i just need to give it some more listens. This cd goes by fast as did V.O.D.'s "For The Bleeders" did also. It's kinda short, and there seems to be more softcore songs then harder ones... The way they placed the songs in order is good though, cuase you'll start w/ a few hard ones, go to maybe 1 or 2 soft ones and then back to exploding w/ some hard ones. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars becuase of some of the softer stuff on here, mainly due to there being more of a soft amt of songs on here then hardcore ones, but the cd is a 4 1/2 star in my book, i just wish there were maybe 2-3 more harder songs on the cd. All in all, i say it's a great debut from Williams new band Bloodsimple, and i can't wait for their next cd to come out. I will definitely be checking it out when it hits.
If you're a fan of Vision of Disorder (a hardcore fan too), then definitely check this cd out and give it a chance too. You may not dig the slow stuff at first, but give it a few listens at least before you chuck it (if you do chuck it that is). If you're into bands like VAST, then you should check this CD out as well. You'll find the harder selections to be more hardcore then VAST, but i think you'll dig it nevertheless.
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