Review Summary: I don't know what else to say other than if you were ever doubting the state of rock music, 'Red Harvest' and Bloodsimple will make you believe again.
"Red Harvest" is Bloodsimple's second album, and one that had me highly anticipating its arrival, after 2005's promising debut; "A Cruel World". And so, October last year I finally managed to get my hands on their sophomore release and ... WOW.
You see, in "A Cruel World" the band proved their songwriting skills with great tracks like "Blood In Blood Out", "Path To Prevail" and "Straight Hate". However, quite a few of the other songs felt like fillers and weren't anywhere near the quality of the aforementioned. On shoving "Red Harvest" into my probably overly too loud speaker system, I initially felt some disappointment. The first two tracks (which includes the title track) were, to a certain extent, a little dull.
And then the riff for "Dark Helmet" the third song on the album kicked in and after less than 30 seconds into the song I was on my feet pursuing some slightly embarrassing headbanging antics (I have very little hair atm for a start). Here was the bludgeoning, grooving riff, the rabid vocal, the slamming drums that raised my head a few years previously.
The next three songs that followed kept up this crushingly heavy, thick as tar, fist pumping, headbanging groove; "Dead Man Walking", "Out To Get You", and "Suck It Up", which along with "Dark Helmet" are definitley the stand out WOW factor tracks.
Whereas, by the end of the "A Cruel World" the songs began to lose some of the creativity of the earlier tracks, here it just keeps coming. "Whiskey Bent and Hellbound" is another great tune, although running at a slightly slower pace to begin with than the other songs.
On this album there is a hint of new, Southern direction with more than a passing resemblance to Pantera. But Bloodsimple manage to retain their unique sound and make this part of their own. 'Red Harvest' proves that a band that has seemingly covered all possible ground still has something left to prove, and Bloodsimple are the brainchildren behind the madness.
Lyrically, the album has its cheesy moments, but even those flaws are erased thanks in large part to front man Tim Williams' blessed vocal arsenal. Despite these setbacks, 'Red Harvest' is nearly flawless, encompassing a wide range of styles, dynamics, and songwriting approaches; while many bands only implement a few tracks on an album to throw a curveball your way, Bloodsimple do so from tracks 1-11, as each song is its own entity, turning 'Red Harvest' into the monster that it truly is.
The worst part about this album is that it ends.
