The Blamed
Forever
Reviewed by David Bixler
Well, Brian Grey and company have released another CD as The Blamed. This CD is a big change from their earlier Tooth & Nail albums, and after the disappointment of Again..., Forever comes as a very pleasant and refreshing surprise. Most people would recognize the Blamed as a hardcore, thrashy punk band. Though these elements are evident on this album, they don't dominate as much as they did on earlier releases. In fact, I would almost venture to say that this really isn't even a punk album. The comeback of metal is becoming more and more obvious, and The Blamed obviously recognizes this, as they incorporate lots of crunchy metal riffs into their songs rather than just playing standard punk riffs, though those are on the disc as well. Musically, this is difficult to summarize. Some of these songs sound like they could have been on Crashdog's Cashists, Fascists, and Other Fungus, at least from a musical standpoint, while others almost sound like Focused from a vocal standpoint, while others sound more heavy metalcore with screamed vocals. There are a lot of fast, punk rhythms on this CD, but there are also longer, more drawn out sections that lend themselves to a slow and purposeful headbanging session. The CD opens up with a fast metal riff in "Dissonance," and it has a really cool slowed down power chord progression in the middle that should get at least a few heads nodding. "To Change" is more of a thrash punk song, while the title track almost approaches speed metal, but stays primarily in the fast, heavy metal arena. The last song has a goth / doomcore feel to it, with a slow and deliberate metal riff with soaring female vocals layered over the top. Overall, this is a very diverse disc musically. And though no lyrics are included in the CD jacket, it is obvious where these guys are coming from spiritually, as the band shouts in the title track's chorus: "Forever! Forgiven! Sanctified! By the blood of Christ!" In my opinion, this is the best Blamed disc to date. They may lose some of their pure punk fan base with this release, but there is enough gang-shouted / screamed vocals to satisfy that crowd, and the metal riffs beef up the sound and give it a whole new feel. And did I mention that the drumming on this disc is killer