Trigger The Bloodshed - Purgation Review
Posted by Dan Marsicano on 09.08.2008
British brutal death metal band Trigger The Bloodshed have brought their mix of death metal and grindcore to the states with their debut album Purgation. Can the young band make a splash in the United States?
The Band
Charlie Holmes-Vocals
Rob Purnell-Guitar
Martyn Evans-Guitar
Max Blunos-Drums
Dave Purnell-Bass
Death metal/grindcore band Trigger The Bloodshed have made quite a splash in their native land of the United Kingdom. With a singular mindset of being the most brutal band in metal, Trigger The Bloodshed has gained critical and commercial acclaim overseas. The quintet hopes to follow suit in the states with the release of their debut album, Purgation.
Purgation will be an acquired taste for metal fans. Some of you will latch onto the band, mesmerized by their grab-the-listener-by-the-jugular mentality and lack of any melodic elements. Others will blast through the 17 tracks and retain nothing of substance, bombarded by blastbeats and unrecognizable grunts. Trigger The Bloodshed will find an audience, as most brutal death metal bands do, but it takes a lot more in modern death metal to stand out amongst a sea of repetition and tired songwriting.
That’s why Trigger The Bloodshed implements characteristics of the grindcore genre into their sound. The band utilizes techniques from staple bands of the grindcore genre, Napalm Death and Pig Destroyer. While still a young band, having only been together for about two years, Purgation shows a lot of potential, especially in the rhythm section.
Drummer Max Blunos is the all-around highlight of Purgation. Blunos isn’t old enough to go behind the wheel of a Beetle by himself, but he has the chops and speed to compete with drummers twice his age. Blunos is heavily into blastbeats, but changes it up with pounding bass work and hyper-active fills in several of the tracks. The rest of the band doesn’t quite match up to Blunos’ skill, but do a competent job at their respective positions.
After multiple listens, it becomes apparent that Purgation suffers from a lack of variety, especially in the guitar department. While guitarists Purnell and Evans impress with quick riffing and solid breakdowns, there isn’t anything that stands out in their performances. I wasn’t expecting any technical solos or flashy harmonics, but something other than a bunch of standard death metal riffs mish-mashed together would have helped the album.
Purgation is a one-trick pony, staying at a consistent speed, but never deviating from the formula. The best moments are the shorter tracks, which are highly energetic and seem to suit the band’s style much better. When Trigger The Bloodshed extends the tracks to the near-four minute mark, the songwriting weaknesses starts to become more visible. Only the closer “A Perfect Casket,” with its calming clean electric guitar intro leading to a cataclysm of noise, and “Purgation,” with a good solo tucked into its conclusion, stick out in my mind.
Trigger The Bloodshed tries their hand at being “different” by strategically placing instrumentals throughout Purgation. Most of them are relatively pointless, especially the strange “Domicile,” which is a minute and a half of pigs squealing repeatedly. They do break up the flow of the album, though, which is much appreciated near the half-way mark.
Purgation is not a fundamentally bad album. The issue is one that plagues many modern death metal bands; lack of diversity. Death metal music has become a game, a challenge, a way to one-up your fellow competitors, by being as “brutal” and “fast” as possible. I don’t expect every death metal band to be like Origin or Opeth or Death; I just want bands that know what they are good at and work to improve upon that, instead of trying to throw everything at you all at once, only letting a few musical ideas stick to the wall.
Trigger The Bloodshed is at their best when they immediately go for the kill, instead of stalking their prey and waiting for the right moment to pounce. Purgation has a lot going for it, but even at a short 37 minutes, it feels long and over-done. If the band sticks with the shorter, more grindcore-influenced material, they could have longevity behind them. Will they make an impact over in the states? It’s possible, with the right tour, that metal fans over in these parts open up their arms and ears to Trigger The Bloodshed. Until then, I cautiously recommend Purgation, as long as you heed my words and know what to expect from the start; a standard brutal death metal album.
The 411: Purgation is a mix bag of a death metal album. Trigger The Bloodshed has a great drummer and a solid, if repetitive, guitar duo in their ranks, yet doesn't follow it up in the songwriting department. Hardcore death metal fans will find a lot to like, but the rest of metal fans will probably scoff at the lack of variety and the lack of anything resembling melody, except for the pointless instrumentals and brief intro to the final track.
this seems in the vein of corpse and sfu. there's nothing wrong with a little bit of death, but it does indeed go a long way. i'll dl a few tracks and give you my opinion later.
Posted By: hellboysetsfire (Guest) on September 08, 2008 at 11:24 AM
