bloodsimple Press

Planet-Loud Review

Bloodsimple - Red Harvest
(Reprise Records)
PL Rating:

Date posted 19 January 2008
Bloodsimple’s debut album saw the return of former Vision Of Disorder front man Tim Williams so right there the band already had an appeal to them. The fact that ‘A Cruel World’ was one hell of an album didn’t hurt the band either. Still the follow up was always going to be a tricky thing. However the band has got it spot on. The slow burning ‘Ride With Me’ opens up the album and although it sounds more like something you would find at the end of the album it sets the scene before ‘Red Harvest’ kicks the album into full swing. ‘Dead Man Walking’ has the catchy hooks and chorus that will make it a firm favourite without losing an ounce of heaviness. In fact the whole album combines catchiness and heaviness perfectly without a hint of commercialism. ‘Death From Above’ is the heaviest track on the album but still has the catchy hooks, and shows the bands influence from Pantera. Nonetheless it’s still a Bloodsimple song and a great one at that. With Williams’s voice sounding better than ever its no surprise that for most of the album the vocals are a little harsher than on the debut, so when he does sing, ‘Whiskey Ben And Hellbound’ and ‘Truth’ it makes for a refreshing change. It could have been so easy for the band to play it safe, however on ‘Red Harvest’ we see the band pushing themselves trying to truly find the band identity and in the process they have produced an album that is ten times better than anything the might have produced if they were playing it self. This might just be the album that takes the band to the next level. Reviewer Simon Douglass

Kerrang! Exclusive Avenged and bloodsimple downloads!

Avenged Sevenfold and Bloodsimple kick off their UK tour tonight in
Southampton, and to celebrate, we've got two exclusive downloads for you.
click here to read more

Red Harvest - The New Album

OUT DIGITALLY TODAY - ON CD FROM JANUARY 21ST!

Let’s face it, life isn’t pretty. Every evening, the news is full of grisly tales of murder, death and deception that not even Truman Capote could think up. While it only makes sense that a band like Bloodsimple would be birthed of out this chaos, no one could have expected the progression the band would make with the follow-up to their aptly titled 2005 debut 'A Cruel World' . Sure, 'Red Harvest' (produced by Machine - Lamb Of God, Everytime I Die) still sports grooves so deep you could get lost in them, but there’s a level of growth and maturity inherent in the disc that could have only been achieved by spending literally years together on the road and in the practice space.

Formed in 2002 by Williams and guitarist Mike Kennedy (both ex Vision Of Disorder), the band—which also features guitarist Nick Rowe and bassist Kyle Sanders —were initially discovered by Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray in 2004 and instantly hit the road (and held their own) with peers such as Otep, American Head Charge and Candiria. Since then, Bloodsimple have toured with everyone from Stone Sour to Alice in Chains to Slayer, introducing their unique brand of groove-driven metal to anyone open-minded enough to listen and gaining fans all over the world.

And speaking of immense touring regimes - the band hit the UK the UK shores this week with Avenged Sevenfold. Full dates on left...

The video for 'Out To Get You' uses footage from George A Romero's 'Night Of The Living Dead', which Bloodsimple were able to use without clearance as the film is public domain. This is because the Walter Reade Organization (the original theatrical distributor) failed to put a copyright notice on the original prints! Back in 1968, the US Copyright Lawrequired a proper notice for a work to remain copyrighted.

To watch video now CLICK HERE