The Bled Album: “Heat Fetish”

...in the face. Heat Fetish, that is. It's a shame I'm the first reviewer, but I guess Amazon really isn't post-hardcore central or anything.

The Bled's first two albums were almost complete throwaways for me, and honestly I don't have a good reason. I just didn't like them. Silent Treatment grabbed my attention far more, but I still didn't connect with that album. But with Heat Fetish, I've found the first album by The Bled that is a true classic, and is perhaps the first post-post-hardcore album to surface. The dexterity and intensity displayed here is astonishing, and each track goes straight for the throat.

Most tracks are utter brutality, but when experimental and melodic textures pop up, they're brilliantly paced and are reminiscent of a breath of fresh air after getting the wind knocked out of you. The Deftones-ish style found on some of the tracks is a bit off for me, but that's all a part of the world of metal that this album explores.

It's simple, really. A post-hardcore fan would be a fool to not snatch this one up. Even people who hate post-hardcore should check it out, because there's no ignoring the talent on this record.

Heat Fetish is here, and it wants to blister you.

Getting excited over a post-hardcore album in '10 is a big deal. With a nauseating amount of uninspired, and quite frankly generic music flooding the scene, it is beyond refreshing to hear this album. Is this the re inventing of the post-hardcore wheel? nope. Is this a step in the right direction to hopefully revive an otherwise dying genre? Most definitely. Bottom line: The Bled are back and have crafted their most inspirational, ferocious, and solid album to date. Nothing seems to be able to keep this band from cranking out exceptional releases. A slew of new members and a huge label change did absolutely nothing to hold this five man army back. If anything, they are stronger now than ever.

Cue 0:24 of track one: upon hearing the first section of this track, I was sold; hook line and sinker. The Bled had succeeded in pulling me in once again with their infectiously heavy guitar, bone crushing drums, and unbearably brutal screams. This track, and the next 4 pretty much follow the same formula while each remaining unique in their own right. Track 5, "Need New Conspirators" offers some change of pace with a perplexing, slightly ambient guitar line only to lure us in just long enough to then deliver full throttle-heavyness (excuse the cliches.)Track 8, "Meet Me In The Bone Orchard" is by far my favorite track on this album, showcasing some of The Bled's most unique melody crafting to date. Every song on this album is unique, interesting, and well worth the 9-14$ you might spend.

Musically, this album is a completely natural progression from "Silent Treatment." How The Bled manage to sound like "The Bled" after such a drastic line-up change is unknown to me. However, the new influences are less than duly noted. One spin of this record and its not hard to hear each member bringing their absolute best, and new influences to the table. While listening to this album I couldn't help but think to myself occasionally, "Deftones." Turns out Chino Moreno had more than one cameo on this album. His voice adds an unmistakable touch to those few blissful moments.

From start to finish, this album is a treat for the ears. Brilliant production (as with most Rise artists), post-hardcore done right, melody intertwined, wonderful display of musicianship, and all around good music is what makes this album an absolute must for '10.

..is Not here. Let's compare records. PTF..Their staple album, the album they will be remembered for. FITF..A good album, on the experimental side, but they were progressing and that's ok. TST, quite possibly my favorite record, all the songs work and flow very well together and the production is amazing on this album. Now, for HF..The album hits hard but the creativity and writing took a severe hit..and the production is the worst out of all their records. I would have been happy if TST was their last and final record..

This album is a departure from the more melodic style you're accustomed to from The Bled. Almost every song is fast paced and heavier than anything you've heard from them before. It's a weird change of pace considering bands are more prone to take the edge out of their music nowadays, but The Bled definitely makes it work.

That being said, this album isn't as good their debut or even as good as Silent Treatment (let's just pretend Found in the Flood never existed). They do have little catchy melodies here and there, but not all too prominent. Actually, most of the melodies are overshadowed by the heaviness of the song, and in a way, they're too subtle and can get lost in the wake of the song. That's the biggest problem with the album, but it's still a very solid release and if your looking for relentless post-hardcore music, then here it is.

To give you an idea of what it sounds like, I guess I would say it's like 40 minutes of the track Starving Artiste from Silent Treatment.

I don't know what the hell "POST-Hardcore" is? I grew up on punk. It didn't DIE! It...evolved. Like everything in life Does. First off, I was not a big fan of their first album which I bought after the 2nd and 3rd. This Is 'Scream-o' music. Period. There are 2 types, typically. Metal based and punk based. 5 finger death punch is metal based. Atreyu, also. This IS punk based, which I prefer. The yahoo that said their 'Found In The Flood' Album was best...forgotten...doesn't, obviously, know what the hell he's talking about. My Assassin? Antarctica? These were the tracks that, I thought, signaled a divergence from the rest of the harder songs and made me appreciate them more. The Silent treatment was an even better follow up so, naturally, I was super-stoked to hear they had a new album coming out.(Their FIRST album, By the way, is best...Forgotten.) Heat Fetish is very much in the same vein as Pass The Flask. Every song indistingusihable from the next. I figured this album would be a natural progression from there last, i.e., Better effort. It's NOT. This is a group with SO MUCH TALENT. Whatever happened to change the direction you were going in, PLEASE, UN-CHANGE IT!. I thought your fan base would grow as you progressed like AFI's did. The Bled could really be something with the right voice to guide it. Right know... There stuck on faint whispers and echos. (Sorry for the poor review but I call it like it is.)