Blood Runs Black hit the heavy note with hard hitting DesecrationBritish metalcore band thump our eardrums with a religious message in their debut single
Blood Runs Black - serious faces to go with their serious tunesIt's hard to really pinpoint the way that British metal's newest breakout band have defined themselves most in their first few months on the scene. On one hand, having been formed from the ashes of two disbanded factions, the Sheffield five-piece Blood Runs Black have made a name for themselves in their native Yorkshire with some scorching live performances at Corporation in their home city and Cockpit in nearby Leeds. However, while all of this has been going on at home, lead singer Kai Rollins has been making more of a shockwave on international scales, breaking up couples, criticising various bloggers and celebrities and spreading his promiscuous seed left, right and centre.
While all of this has been going on, though, the band has quietly, and rather admirably, been getting on with finishing work on getting some self-released music out. Without label constraints and the need to prove themselves to company bigwigs, the band have been putting pen to paper on a debut EP – Tides, and they have now released their first single from the EP. Entitled Desecration, the metalcore track pulls no punches, opting away from the genre's desire to all too often play into the hands of radio and TV with some real mainstream commercial singles. Desecration is hard hitting, heavy and unapologetic in its metal roots.
There are two ways to look at this single, though. On one hand, it is far from being groundbreaking in its sound. It is heavy and has all the makings of a fantastic metal song, without being something we haven't heard the likes of before. But is that a bad thing? What Blood Runs Black have done here is immediately find themselves a placing in a genre that has badly been lacking bands in the last few years. With the disappearing of the likes of Blood of Wecz, Mind and Trivial, bands like Acts of Hate and Shadowmachine have been plowing a lonely furrow. But now Blood Runs Black are here to introduce something new and give some competition to their bigger compatriots, and that can never be a bad thing.
Breakdowns, gloriously deep growls and hard hitting instrumental work are all on offer from this thumping punch to the gut of a debut single, and while it shows the band as being far from the finished article, Desecration shows the potential that Blood Runs Black have to become one of the biggest metal bands in the new generation. We at Metal Hammer definitely cannot wait to hear a longer release later in the year – metal just got a lot more interesting yet again.
Quote:Kai says: “This is a song that's all about a guy I used to know. It's likely to draw controversy for what I'm sure everyone will see as an anti-religious message, but it's not. Not at all. What this is, is like a commentary on the way things were in my home town. We all grew up in a little Catholic community in Sheffield, where we all went to Catholic schools and our families were very very religious. Most of the parents, or at least the ones I knew of – like mine – didn't make their kids go to church because we learned all about the bible at school nearly every day.
“There was this one guy that I knew though. His parents were way different, and he was forced to go to bible classes, chapel on a Sunday, then all sorts of groups during the week. Fair play to them, if that's their deal, but this kid was so miserable....he believed that they were trying to make him as miserable as they were. Their indoctrination worked against them though, as the kid rebelled hard, and he became so anti-religious, drinking every night and becoming angrier and angrier...he just descended into a really dark place.
“So this song is from his point of view. I met him back home recently and the guy was a mess. Broken down, hating life, hating the bible, and telling me all these fantasies he had about vandalising the local church and stuff. It was hard to see, so I wanted to write a song that really showed what the poor fucker was going through. I hope I don't come across as sentimental here (laughs). I just think it's a really cool side of super religious beliefs to look at.
“I like the song – it's fucking heavy and hard, and I love how violent my voice sounds. What I like most though is the way it will draw criticism. For those without the ability to decipher things as more than face value – tabloids and the like – this will read like an attack on Christianity, but it's not. I'm religious, and I believe in doing right...even though I sometimes stray from the path. It's just a really cool song with a message that I used a lot of religious imagery to convey. If even one person gets that, it'll be cool. If the mainstream hate it and call us devil worshippers – that'll be even cooler. We also got the chance to release something for the first time, which is the coolest part. I love the fact we've got a song out, and now we can push on with our career. That's all we want.”
Blood Runs Black - DesecrationArtist: Blood Runs Black
Title: Desecration
Genre: Metal/metalcore
Album: Tides
Length: 4:46
Written by: Kai Rollins, Kev Collins
Producer: Kev CollinsDesecration is a heavy, brutal metal song filled with breakdowns, heavy chords and growled vocals that come from the heart. The track is a sign of intent from a band that wants to make its mark on a genre that has needed new heroes for the past few years, showing how they intend to grab heavy music by the neck and shake it back to life. They have set out their stall with a first single that does not hold back and brings a message that many other artists would shirk away from, with imagery that suggests an anti-religious sentiment.
The song begins with a slow drumming and guitar track throughout the intro that sounds like a real clap-along track. After a few seconds, Kai Rollins growling voice comes over the top, singing the first two lines very slowly in time with the music. As he reaches the end of the second line and screams
Let's go!, the instrumental comes to life, and a brutally heavy, thumping riff comes through, breaking the relative peace and inducing a reaction from anyone who hears it. Throughout the verse, this heavy as hell riff is prominent, with no let up during the time Rollins spits and shits every word in his deep guttural bark that will no doubt become a signature for a band looking to make itself stand out from the crowd.
After the verses, the band waste no time racing into choruses. The pace holds up throughout this, although the heavy chunky riffs relent slightly in place of a higher pitched guitar tone, while Rollins voice becomes something more akin to a roar than a growl and the thumping drums of Kev Collins beat heavy and fast in the chest.
After the second chorus, there's a momentary pause before the band launch into a heavy breakdown, slower but infinitely heavier and more brutal than anything that has come before it. This is followed by the drums playing a slower, but quickening section, while the guitars play repeated discords and Rollins growls quieter than before through another section. They then launch into the chorus once more before the song ends with a section similar to the intro, followed by an outro of Rollins' heavy breathing.
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This is my chapel!
This is what my life has come to be!
Another echo from the silence wakes my dreams....let's go!
Your life was not a calling for me
I put myself up on a pedestal for all to see
Chased the bottle not the bible to get things right
I banished the past and blocked my memory!
In a world that won't stop turning
I will desecrate your holiest places
In a society that would see me burning
Me and my kind are sick, we're disgraces
So give it up, break your crosses to shrapnel
Hand me another bottle, this is my chapel!Told you I would give it all to make you proud
Were you happy that our love was built on lies
Now I chase another bottom to forget your shroud
Did you hear my pain, and my lonely cries
Never gave me a chance to see what I was facing
You never let me get my own relief
Late at night I'd stagger and fall while chasing
Another escape from the way you forced your belief
And it was time to break your shackles
Let me jump from this crucifixion
I'll never rest from fighting against these chains
Carried your cross and accepted constriction
In a world that won't stop turning
I will desecrate your holiest places
In a society that would see me burning
Me and my kind are sick, we're disgraces
So give it up, break your crosses to shrapnel
Hand me another bottle, this is my chapel!Now listen up, I've spent too long as your sacrifice
I am your kin, not your holy off'ring
Will I die or take another glass, let me roll the dice
You'll never win, I'm not chasing my coffinSo listen up....give me a chance to walk away
I've been down to the bottom of every glass
And my chapel is here to stay!In a world that won't stop turning
I will desecrate your holiest places
In a society that would see me burning
Me and my kind are sick, we're disgraces
So give it up, break your crosses to shrapnel
Hand me another bottle, this is my chapel!And this is what my life has come to be
I'm standing on the edge....let's go!
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