Plain Straight Thrash

Queens of the Stone Age, Danzig and Cro-Mags are the roots of Bloodclot. The band’s second full-length release, Up in Arms, certainly mimics the styles of the band members’ past ventures, but like their 2008 release, it takes more of a metal turn. Thrash metal is the center-point of this album as the supergroup reveals their affinity for fast and heavy instrumentation.

The album clocks out at about 29 minutes with punk-sized songs, with the longest track, “Up In Arms” reaching about four minutes. “Up In Arms” starts off the album with the exact aggression that runs through to the end. The title track begins with looming feedback followed by an immediate descent into madness, revealing a trend for the rest of the 12-track EP.

From the first track on, there is absolutely no stopping Bloodclot. Some of the songs are over in a blink while others take their time in relentlessly pounding listener’s eardrums. This breaks up the album nicely, allowing the listener to digest each song in a different way. Though, some songs definitely resonate more than others.

A real metal masterpiece on this album is “Siva/Rudra.” Not only does this song have some awesomely catchy verse guitar riffs, but the vocals take on some uncharacteristic melody for a bit. The song is one of the longer ventures on the album but still manages to give out something eclectic and impressive in under four minutes. Of all the tracks on Up In Arms, this song creates the most intrigue.

In the surplus of short songs, “Fire,” “Kill the Beast” and “Kali” are only a few of the under-2-minute highlights on this album. These songs make Bloodclot a unique metal act in this day and age. The punk rock length of these songs are a far cry in post-2000 metal, but are seeing a resurgence with Bloodclot and acts such as Lich King and Iron Reagan.

Although the song lengths are fresh and snackable, the album itself is a difficult listen. The 29-minute album feels more like an hour because of its consistency. At no point does Bloodclot noticeably change tempo or alter their style for too long. It is at the point where their concerts may just have to be one 30-minute intense mosh pit with no breaks or stoppage.

Up In Arms should not be listened to all the way through in one go. The album lacks differentiating factors song to song and serves more as an aggressive joyride rather than a wholesome listening experience, which may actually appeal to a good few metal faithful. Bloodclot definitely served up something wild with Up In Arms, but a question lingers as to if they’ll think about tweaking their sound a little bit anytime soon.