Supergroups come and go. One that’s been in it for the long haul, albeit sporadically, is Bloodclot. Formed in 2005 by longtime Cro-Mags vocalist John Joseph, the band has been more or less a revolving door of hardcore’s biggest names. Joining Joseph in this current incarnation is former Quicksand guitarist Tom Capone, Sick of It All bassist Craig Setari, and former Madball drummer Darren Morgenthaler. Together, the four have joined forces for Bloodclot’s first studio album in 5 years, Souls: A punishing offering of hardcore thrash fury that, in true old school fashion, runs just a little over 20 minutes in length.
Whereas their debut Burn Babylon Burn! (2008) was an amalgamation of hardcore, thrash, and groove metal, and Up In Arms (2017) was a straightforward NYHC affair, Souls is by far the darkest and most metal oriented Bloodclot album to date. The band members must’ve revisited their old Slayer, Venom, and D.R.I. records before writing and recording this one, and it shows. Leave it to a band of dudes who grew up in the glory days of extreme metal and hardcore to capture the raw energy of both on one blistering affair.
Souls opens with its brooding and aggressive Slayer inspired title track, a rager that combines violent thrash riffs with an underlying hardcore attitude. Of course, it would be all but incomplete without the obligatory New York style tough guy mosh breakdown. At a little over 4 minutes, “Souls” takes its sweet time laying down the law. On the contrast are cuts like the chaotic “Unhinged”, which borders on early thrashcore, and the thrashing mad punker that is “Save the Robots”, the latter of which wouldn’t sound out of place on Agnostic Front’s Cause for Alarm (1986).
The only truly weak moment on this otherwise solid effort is the monotonous “Infectious”. I understand what they were attempting to go for here, trying to incorporate a slower, groovier song to add variety. After all, Cro-Mags did it plenty of times in their heyday. Unfortunately, it comes off less like a midtempo knuckle-dragger and more like a run of the mill alt metal dirge that only derails the mood. Thankfully, the motörcharged crossover of “Relentless” picks up the pieces and stands out as the strongest cut, proudly boasting a dirty rock n’ roll swagger that’d make Lemmy proud. Closing it all out is a rather respectable cover of Bad Brains’ “How Low Can a Punk Get”. Although nothing touches the insanity of the original, this cover could’ve been much worse, and I’m grateful it isn’t.
For a band that really only comes together when the stars align, and even then only when John Joseph isn’t busy training and competing in Ironman or lending his talents to three zillion other bands and projects, Bloodclot can sure cook up a compelling collection of metallic hardcore mayhem. Souls is indeed metal enough for the metalheads and punk enough for the punks. Had it come out 35 years ago, it would’ve caused some pretty nasty mosh pit scuffles. Nowadays, it’ll just cause a neckache from all the headbanging that will ensue.
6 out of 10
Label: Upstate Records
Genre: Crossover Thrash
For fans of: Slayer, D.R.I., Cro-Mags