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It is getting incerasingly difficult to keep track of all the metalcore bands that are active in 2022, but if we get really specific, most of them tend to stray away from the genre's original sound and feel. While I love all of the modern experimentation, alternative approach and stylistic fluidity, every now and then all you need is some good old-fashioned groovy metalcore bash, and very few bands have been as consistent as Bleed From Within, who have just given us another reminder of just how damn good they are with Shrine.
The latest offering from the Scottish juggernauts comes amidst an upheaval across the entire metal scene, and yet it overshadows the vast majority with uncontainable force. The record is their sixth, and third in a very quick succession of back-to-back bangers that serve as a powerful statement of their stature and dominance, their sound getting bigger, better and bolder with each release, and cementing their place at the modern metal hall of fame.
Bleed From Within's story starts all the way back in in the mid-2000s with two EPs and two albums that leaned heavily towards deathcore, before eventually signing to Century Media and beginning their ambitious ascend with Uprising (2013), whose opening 'III' and 'Colony' were clear signs that the guys mean business. A little forward and Era (2018) was easily one of the best albums of the year, followed by Fracture (2020) that raised the bar even higher. Jump to 2022 and somehow they managed to top all that with an instant genre classic, fresh off their introduction to the royal Nuclear Blast family.
Often neglected and ridiculously underrated, Bleed From Within deserve to be named alongside metalcore powerhouses like As I Lay Dying, Caliban, All That Remains, Miss May I, Bury Tomorrow, to name a few. The depth and diversity of their entire discography is almost unparalleled, having persistently developped their sound into a unique trademark that immediately stands out in a genre that is notoriously overcrowded and repetative. Metalcore has been, and remains at the very core of who they are, enhanced even further with appropriate layers of groove, melodeath and symphonic metal to the point where they become a genre of their own, as forceful as they could be.
I might be way off, but both musically and visually Shrine feels like the grand finale of the album trilogy that started with Era four years ago. Coincidentally (or not...) this is also when new rhythm guitarist and clean vocalist Steven Jones joined the band, and it has been a steady uphill ride for the band ever since. Scott Kenn's thunderous vocals are deeper and fuller, guitars and bass sound even groovier and more expansive than ever, the drumming is punchy and irrepressible; add in the pristine production and grand orchestral arrangements, and you can see why the media has been awestruck by Shrine.
Prior to the official release, Bleed From Within shared four killer promo singles that paved the way for Shrine's grand premiere in June. I mention metalcore a lot, but the teasers all but proved that Bleed From Within have grown into a metal machine that transcends their origins whilst paying their respects to the genre. It all started back towards the end of 2021, with the monumental lead single 'I Am Damnation' just a mere hint at the scope of the band's upcoming opus magnum.
What followed is the aethereal 'Levitate', the restless rager 'Stand Down' and the death-driven pit-starter 'Flesh And Stone', all eventually backed by seven instant classic (not counting the prelude 'Skye'). It is hard to pick a favourite as Shrine does not show any moments of hesitations and hits hard until the very last tone of its epic finale 'Paradise'. From bonebraking bangers like 'Sovereign', 'Shapeshifter' and 'Killing Time', to the anthemic 'Invisible Enemy', 'Death Defined' and 'Temple of Lunacy', it is a diverse record of many tones, all united and driven by their uncontainable energy and sheer might.
Quetly and persistently, over the course of their last three records, Bleed From Within have become an unstoppable force of nature, and 2022 proved this once and for all for the whole world to see. Having easily conquered their native Scotland and claimed a top spot amongs the scene's greatest in the UK and Europe, Shrine might just be the final step towards global metalcore dominance, with the only question left now being how they could possibly top it with their seventh.
Bleed From Within - Shrine
Country: Scotland
Released: 3 June 2022
Label: Nuclear Blast
Tracklisting:
1. 'I Am Damnation'
2. 'Sovereign
3. 'Levitate
4. 'Flesh and Stone
5. 'Invisible Enemy
6. 'Skye'
7. 'Stand Down'
8. 'Death Defined'
9. 'Shapeshifter'
10. 'Temple of Lunacy'
11. 'Killing Time'
12. 'Paradise'
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