Bleed – Bleed Review

By Saunders

Record label dependability is a handy gauge for assessing quality in the crowded realms of the metalverse. The gauge isn’t always foolproof, but more often than not, a handful of trustier labels in the biz deliver on both quality and individuality. Pittsburgh-based record label 20 Buck Spin has championed many a fine band since its inception 20 years ago, boasting a diverse roster, currently including wide-ranging acts such as Fulci, Vastum, Slimelord, Bedsore, Tribunal, and Worm. It was a curious promotion of Texan band Bleed that piqued my interest. Even amidst the label’s solid variety and idiosyncrasies, on paper Bleed appear an unusual fit. Firstly, Bleed have no affiliation with the extreme sounds of many of their labelmates, instead leaning into a chunky and melodic alternative metal/rock sound channeling late ’90s and early ’00s vibes. Although carrying enough metallic clinks and weighty riffs, in many facets, Bleed fall into the metal adjacent category, bound to satisfy and repel this fine readership in divisive ways. With a solid 2021 EP under their belts, can Bleed add some fresh threads to an endearingly modern meets retro formula?

Nostalgia is a strong emotion in the music world, and Bleed ride those throwback feels hard across a tight and punchy collection of airy, spacey alt metal tunes. There is a deceptive versatility gushing from Bleed’s emotive songwriting. Shoegazing atmospherics, throwback nü grooves, Deftones-powered dynamics, and hints of Helmet, early Incubus, and Failure coalesce into a crunchy, riff-centric slab of moody alt metal. Bleed possess the chunky modern elements and fresh vibes to transcend mere throwback values. Furnishing fat riffs and fatter grooves with soft-loud dynamics, where dreamy, glistening melodies, subdued verses, and mellow breaks intertwine with nü flavored heavy rock and angsty alternative metal. The formula largely works to reel in the target audience, delivering a collection of compact, infectious, hooky delights.

Showing their hand from the outset, the chunky opening riffs and turntable scratching of opener “Climbing Down” deliver a retro trip. Bolstered by punchy riffs crashing over moody textures and an ethereal melodic sheen, the song plays on the band’s strengths. These recurring factors create the signature dreamy feel permeating the album, as Bleed prove talented musicians with a knack for hooky songwriting and tightly synced performances. Bleed’s formula it not overly complicated or flashy, yet they nail execution, the engaging melodies and catchy riffs creating a soothing atmosphere comfortable to get lost in. Keeping their writing on a tight leash, Bleed rigidly remain true to their formula, imbuing each song with individual character and throwing down the occasional curveball. “Shallow” dabbles in more subdued, acoustic-driven waters, featuring a chilled, almost hypnotic, psychedelic cadence, rippling with interesting melodies. The heavier vocal turns add a welcome edge to earworm nuggets on lead singles “Marathon” and “Enjoy Your Stay” (featuring Static Dress). Elsewhere, the riffs do the heavier lifting, driving the likes of “Fixate” and “Killing Time,” setting the stage for the shifting dynamics and enveloping melodies to take hold.

“Through the Cylinder” is another solid showcase of what Bleed do well, threading engaging melodies through an escalating arrangement, culminating in heavier vox and a bruising breakdown. Over the course of the album, singer/guitarist Ryan Hughes offers up deceptively earwormy, emotive vocal hooks, though his airy style may present as ‘whiny’ to some listeners, potentially being a deal breaker. The heavier backing screams and barks sporadically cutting through the mix create a pleasing counterpoint, and extra grit in the vocal department would be a welcome addition. Nevertheless, his chilled, emotive style has its charms, especially when coupled with the band’s sturdy riff foundation and floating melodic currents. Hughes and fellow guitarist Noah Boyce drive Bleed’s richly textured sound, combining subtle motifs, shoegazing vibes and cool atmospheric licks, with a memorable range of killer riffs and extra chunky grooves.

Bleed’s self-titled debut is bound to cause a buzz in the metal and rock scenes, while proving a divisive experience for many. As an impressionable youngster when the new millennium rolled around, with one foot in the extreme metal sounds and the other exploring the trends of the times, Bleed’s fresh spin on a retro sound forms a nostalgic, transportive experience with enough tricks and character to ground things in the here and now. And despite its flaws, Bleed’s endearing charms, muscular riffs, contemplative shoegazing, and subtly addictive hooks prove difficult to shake.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Website: Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: May 2nd, 2025

#20BuckSpin #2025 #35 #AlternativeMetal #AlternativeRock #AmericanMetal #Bedsore #Bleed #Deftones #Fulci #Helmet #Incubus #Review #Reviews #Shoegaze #Slimelord #StaticDress #Vastum #Worm

Benthos – From Nothing Review

By Dear Hollow

It’s sexy when things you love collide with things you hate. My lust for mathcore is well-established – I go hard for that mind-numbing dyscalculic tinnitus any day – but if you put a slab of prog metal in front of me, I’m gonna go as flaccid as a gummy worm in a hot car faster than you can say “Wilderun.” That’s Benthos. The Italian collective slides a platter of progressive rock’s lush, ambivalent, and emotive movements alongside mathcore’s jagged edges and feral energy, and you’re guaranteed to find something you’ll love and hate – and get hot and bothered by. It’s core’s sellout and prog’s elitism personified in the dichotomy of the heavenly and hellish – yet in your divinely appointed and coarsely deadly free will, you decide which is which. In the words of the wisest, “yeet and yoink” with this particular Haken-themed hatefuck.

Benthos has been around since 2018, and gained recognition in their hometown of Milan by opening for The Contortionist and appearing in the Dissonance Festival in 2023. From Nothing is their debut full-length, although they released the ironically titled EP/mini-album II in 2021. Settled upon a foundation of lush melodies and evasive chord progressions before exploding into frantic Dillinger-inspired rhythm abuse, the act wavers between super serious and frantically silly, soulful cleans colliding haphazardly with demonic shrieks. From Nothing is ambitious in fusing two styles strangely congruous but also not at all, but in the end Benthos is exactly split down the middle, its arrhythmic beatdowns stealing the spotlight from masturbatory prog sections, blurring into some ambivalently erotic background.

First glances of Benthos are synth-heavy progressions and killer vocals. Gabriele Landillo has a formidable set of pipes, their post-hardcore-meets-Chino Moreno vibe lending a creeping sexiness (“Let Me Plunge,” “The Giant Child”) and a desperate belt that adds serious dynamic and show-stealing propensity (“From Nothing,” “Pure”), keeping the more uninteresting passages from descending into drearier monotony. Without careful listening, however, the proggier tracks blur together in a blurry pastel mesh in sprawling layered atmospheric rock tricks – serious synth on guitar action – with interspersed chuggy portions, feeling like a less nuanced songwriting a la (recent) The Contortionist or The Fall of Troy. Speaking of your favorite dark romance crooner Chino, From Nothing feels quite a bit like Deftones’ Gore in its decision to put include metal as a mere monument marker on the jaded journey to the pits of prog – ultimately, a bit of a cockblock. Benthos mixing is likewise stellar, Alberto Fiorani’s dummy thicc bass as audible as the cheek-clapping guitars and slamming drums.

Of its two audio halves, Benthos’ more chaotic mathcore attacks offer the best listening experience. After the vastly longwinded four-song introductory blur, the intro to “As a Cordyceps” introduces what makes From Nothing worth a bit more. Practically brimming with energy, the mathcore technicality and hardcore intensity finally kick in. This continues into the easy highlights that dispense the prog fluff into something that feels cutthroat and quirky, wonky leads weaponized with nimble and mind-bending rhythms (“Fossil,” “Athletic Worms,” “Perpetual Drone Monkeys”). These give Benthos more breathing room when the proggy sensibilities raise their ill-smelling feet, offering nuance to otherwise unwelcoming rooms. These also incorporate more of these chunkier vibes into more mundane moments, letting the rhythms inject a tasteful – albeit short-lived – dose of intensity (“The Giant Child,” “Pure”).

The best and worst part about From Nothing is that Benthos manages to sound both bored to tears and absolutely apeshit depending on which part you tune into. Its moments of unhinged insanity are too few and far between to warrant consistency or balance… or a solid recommendation. But if you’re like Dolphin Whisperer and like your music hot and heavy, while disrobing From Nothing’s many sexy layers and textured sprawls, take a cold shower before venturing out to pick up a copy.1 Benthos offers promise with the softness for the foreplay and the vigor for the penetration, but From Nothing has difficulty keeping it up across its forty-five minute runtime with too-long portions of pretty monotony2 and excessive indulgence,3 but armed with a vocalist both sexy and devastating and an instrumental presence as bonkers as it is patient… goddammit, I need a cold shower now.4

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Inside Out Music
Websites: benthosmusic.bandcamp.com | benthos-band.com | facebook.com/benthosbandofficial
Releases Worldwide: April 11th, 2025

#25 #2025 #Apr25 #Benthos #Deftones #FromNothing #Haken #InsideOutMusic #ItalianMetal #Mathcore #ProgressiveMetal #ProgressiveRock #Review #Reviews #TheContortionist #TheDillingerEscapePlan #TheFallOfTroy #Wilderun