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The Bled
Heat Fetish
Rise Records
Review by Brett Praskach, not John-Michael Bond as the original byline stated.
Since breaking out with 2005’s Found In The Flood on Vagrant Records, The Bled has become a top contender in the grossly overpopulated metalcore scene. The subsequent rerelease of their Fiddler Records debut Pass The Flask proved the Tucson, AZ five piece to be more than just another band riding on a wave of scream-infused breakdowns and melodic interludes. The Bled followed withSilent Treatment in 2007. While grossly under-promoted, Silent Treatment played host to several solid tracks. After touring in support of the album, the band took a hiatus and seemingly disappeared. When they did reappear, The Bled announced that they were not only on a new label, but had also replaced three of five members. Such drastic changes in the lineup, as well as the move from Vagrant Records to Rise Records, left fans understandably skeptical. Heat Fetish speaks for itself, however, and in no uncertain terms.
Heat Fetish hits the ground running, tearing itself wide open immediately with “Devolver.” The song is exactly what fans have come to expect from The Bled, complete with blistering atonal guitar leads and lapses into heavy breakdowns. The distinctive sound of James Isaiah Munoz’ vocals hits as hard as ever, and solidifies not only “Devolver” but the entirety of Heat Fetish as The Bled’s triumphant return. Munoz and guitarist Jeremy Ray Talley have composed the bulk of the band’s creative force on past efforts, and it is evident that they are the two members to have remained with the group. A listener unaware of the band’s lineup changes could listen to Heat Fetishfront to back without even suspecting anything has changed. While the overall feel of the album does reflect a shift in musicianship, it wouldn’t be at all difficult to credit it to growth as a band.
The album continues on with “Mouthbreaker,” a heavy track with a more rhythmically based feel than “Devolver.” At only 1:32 in length, “Mouthbreaker” is a quick burst of aggression and serves to whet listeners’ appetites with a quick taste; it served a similar purpose when a demo version was posted to the band’s Myspace prior to the album’s release. “Shouting Fire In A Crowded Room” is one of the album’s standout tracks. The guitar in the verses, though still distorted, is particularly neat and offers a contrast to the choruses where the guitars play host to much more dissonant tones as in much of the band’s other material. Munoz also uses the track to demonstrate his full range of vocal ability, from screaming to speaking to his surprisingly clean singing. “Shouting Fire In A Crowded Room” is the sort of track that is likely to draw in new listeners without pushing older fans away.
Filling the slot fans have come to expect from earlier songs like “Antarctica” and “Asleep On The Frontlines” is “Needs.” With its drawn out tones and lower-range clean vocals, “Needs” hovers on the line between sleeping and waking. Munoz lead vocals float over a bass vocal line, which creates an almost unsettling feeling. While the track’s heavier intro and ending are solid, many listeners will likely be unsure how they feel about the track as a whole, even after several listens. “Meet Me In The Bone Orchard” follows, and is quick to shake off the uneasiness left behind by “Needs.” The album’s peak is soon after, with “Crowbait.” Arguably the best track on the album, “Crowbait” opens with a fuzzy rhythm line and then explodes with the full band. The motif from the intro is present throughout the verses, and it hits hard. The song incorporates the best of the band’s heavy and melodic ends, but plays as a relentless whole. While extremely brief, the song’s breakdown showcases a lightning-fast muted run reminiscent of “Sound Of Sulfur.” The track continues to build, only to culminate in a sudden and surprisingly gentle conclusion.
Heat Fetish’s penultimate track, “Night Errors” showcases the band’s undeniable technical prowess. Heat Fetish, like The Bled’s previous efforts, is a cohesive blend of robotic accuracy and human emotion. This is especially dominant in “Night Errors,” with its unbelievably tight moving guitar and bass with equally hectic drums. “Crawling Home” closes out the album, and contrasts well with “Night Errors.” While both are instantly recognizable as The Bled, “Crawling Home” finds its foundation in lighter verses and heavily chorded choruses. The first verse revolves around clean, airy guitar, while later verses find their sweet spot with a more classic moving line and heavier tone. The song builds into a musical outro which, while thinner musically, is as powerful as anything else on the track.
Lineup shifts and label changes aside, Heat Fetish is a hard-hitting and powerful album. Heat Fetish is more concentrated, as if the band has finally been able to focus in on a heavier sound. It may not appeal to all of The Bled’s existing fans, but Heat Fetish is arguably the heaviest and most powerful album the band has released since their days with Fiddler Records.
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