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Trigger The Bloodshed

Degenerate

Written by: AP on 22/07/2010 13:24:44

After delving in mediocrity for a while, British born death metal crew Trigger The Bloodshed decided to take their music into another direction with a decent sophomore album last year, increasing the technicality and even flashing some progressive tendencies, much to our liking. Since then the band has continued to make their mark on the British death metal scene with numerous high profile support gigs and an extensive headlining tour there, but things are about to be upscaled, it seems, looking at the band's touring schedule which encompasses most of Europe and includes no less than three shows in Denmark this Fall (two of them headlining, one supporting Job For A Cowboy). Ambitions such as these demand the appropriate product, of course, and this is what the band hopes to have accomplished with their third album, "Degenerate".

From the get go it is clear that the deathcore stigma that the band used to wear has rubbed off, and in its place is a stamp of approval from fans of Nile and Suffocation. Death metal may not be my area of expertise, but quality is universal, and it takes exactly one song to recognise its presence on "Degenerate". Trigger The Bloodshed do not bother with orchestral introductions, launching headfirst into the dramatic and relentlessly intense "A Vision Showing Nothing" to remind us that this isn't every man's music, and certainly not every woman's either. The song provides good insight into the kind of material Trigger The Bloodshed are now writing, with noodling, insanely technical guitar work demanding recognition from the thick bass tones which Jonny Burgan's abysmal growling helps shape. If you were hoping for some relent from then on, your prayers went unheard, because the next seven songs offer more of the same, with "De-Breed", "Dead Vein" and first single "The Soulful Dead" providing some unquestionable highlights.

That the band is more than capable instrumentally is no secret, yet performances on this third album are much more remarkable than anything previously offered. Rather than blindsiding each song with a barrage of riffs played at a constant breakneck tempo, which was the primary issue on previous outings, lead guitarist Rob Purnell has embraced a new found sense of restraint, allowing the songs room to breathe amidst his frenetic shredding and thus form an impression on the listener. Indeed, the band has significantly sharpened up their song writing and consequently the music sounds less frantic and is less breathless an experience whilst still retaining its murderous intent. Trigger The Bloodshed have realised that brutality is not equivalent to playing as fast as humanly possible, supported by a barrage of double pedals and multilayered growling, and it is this maturity that will earn the band high regard in death metal circles.

Download: A Vision Showing Nothing, De-Breed, Dead Vein, The Soulful Dead
For the fans of: Annotations Of An Autopsy, Job For A Cowboy, Misery Index, Suffocation
Listen: Myspace

Release date 31.05.2010
Rising Records