Times have moved on significantly since The Bled shot onto the scene with ‘Pass the Flask’. I remember at the time I really, really enjoyed that record. It was vicious and had more twists and turns than a chicane, yet it somehow maintained melodies and impressive vocal work. Since then The Bled have been little lost souls. At times they’ve shown flashes of genius, but I think they’ve been a victim of their own success – they helped spawn a tonne of soundalike bands, none of which did anything different. They ended up getting lost in a crowd they helped to create. Things weren’t helped when the band decided to stop touring, then founding members Russ Ott (guitar) and Mike Pedicone (drums) left the band, as well as bassist Darren Simoes, who joined the band in 2004. Couldn’t get worse? Vagrant then dropped them.
But with a new line-up in tow The Bled are back with an intensity and fire that makes them stand out again. They’ve refined the sound a little, so while the guitars still sound nice and twiddly, the vocals are more stripped in a Keith Buckley ETID kinda way. ‘Shouting Fire In A Crowded Room’ is one of the best songs the band has ever written and recorded. I love it. While the band don’t always hit the spot, when they do they kill it. The riffs are all there, while the vocals mix the scream/shout thing well too. ‘Devolver’ is a great kick off, while ‘Mountbreather’ and ‘Crowdbait’ sound huge.
If you liked The Bled to begin with and then lost interest, this may well reinvigorate your enthusiasm for the band. It’s technical and energetic and sounds pretty fresh for a band that’s had such an intense history. ‘Heat Fetish’ won’t re-write the genre rulebook, but it’s a blast nonetheless.