Blood Has Been Shed 'Spirals' album

Some people might view Connecticut as a safe, clean, New England state, a perfect piece of real estate in which to bring up the kids.

Well, with one listen to Blood Has Been Shed’s Spirals, you might think twice about packing up the family and calling Connecticut home.

Spirals, the band’s latest release for Ferret Recordings, is easily the heaviest thing Blood Has Been Shed has ever done, eclipsing 2001’s kill-or-be-killed gem, Novella Of Uriel. Menacing frontman Howard Jones, who might share the same name of the 80s new wave pop star, but doesn’t have any of said singer’s sonic qualities, says, “

“We decided to have fun. With Justin playing drums, he has been with us for about a year and a half, but Spirals is the first release where he has contributed in writing,” offers Jones. Further elaborating on the sounds of the new album he says, “We experimented with polyrhythms and off-time things, and then there is the occasional Meshuggah reference. It’s a different entity. We wrote it. We had fun. We recorded it.”

Furthermore, Jones say, “We consciously decided to make it an album where we wanted to have fun and try, to tone-wise, make it as heavy as possible. We played with different tunings and polyrhythms. There are songs on the album where I sing completely. We tried to make it different, something people would not look super deeply into. Our goal was to try and have fun, and write something off the beaten path for us, and we think came up with something fun. It’s definitely fun to play. Hopefully people will feel it’s fun to listen to.”

Spirals is indeed a flesh-flaying album, culling sonic inspiration from technical noise metal to extreme, balls out death metal. The end result is a ferocious metalcore monster that will rip your jugular clean out of your body.

“There’s still plenty of mosh! That’s always important,” laughs Jones. “And there are some touches of melody here and there!”

Jones feels that Spirals is more complex than its predecessor. “With Novella, we went through so many member changes,” offers Jones. “We have a steady line up now, and I was out with Killswitch Engage for the past nine months or so, it was hard to get everything done at once. It was very spread out. It’s more complex and a lot better sounding.” Thanks to the relaxed atmosphere provided by local producer Zeuss (Hatebreed, God Forbid, Shadows Fall), Blood Has Been Shed was able to achieve a cleaner, less muddied production and sound quality to Spirals.

Jones does double duty as the frontman for Killswitch Engage, another band discovered by Ferret that eventually graduated to heavy metal mecca that is Roadrunner Records, but Jones insists that using his throat in two bands doesn’t wear him or his instrument out! “It’s not like 2 full time jobs; I don’t think of it that way. I am doing something that is fun and I cannot complain. There are worse things to do in this world.”

Despite Jones’ other job, the five-year-old Blood Has Been Shed remains an active band. While guitarist Corey Unger has kids and runs his family business, he still finds time to rip shit up with his band. The band plays shows whenever the opportunity befalls it, and they embark on small tours when the opportunities arise. (And even performed after a van accident, without missing a beat!) The band has shared the stage with everyone from Shadows Fall, Shai Hulud, Unearth, Poison The Well, American Nightmare, From Autumn To Ashes, and Sworn Enemy!

Spirals might very well be Blood Has Been Shed’s defining moment in the metalcore scene, thanks to Unger’s battering riffery and Jones’ bipolar vocal prowess.

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Tracklisting

Blood Has Been Shed - Spirals