Bloodjinn - This Machine Runs On Empty

Bloodjinn
This Machine Runs On Empty
EastWest/Pluto
8/10


In the years passed since the release of its 2003 effort, Leave This World Breathing, Bloodjinn has reserved a fair amount of aggression. Pent up and pissed off, the North Carolina metalcore outfit has returned with this voracious new effort, This Machine Runs On Empty. Expect nothing less than a furious torrent of animosity ranging from five-foot-thick walls of sound to progressive harmonies similar to those heard on Trivium’s groundbreaking effort Ascendancy.

While the sound of Bloodjinn on this record owes much to bands like Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage and The Haunted, this group of raucous rockers has enough personality to stand out on their own. Violence prevails on the rapidfire growlfest “Truth Within,” where vocalist Joel Collins issues tormented screams and threatening, under-the-breath whispers. A bit of inspiration from The Great Southern Trendkill is merged with chin-splitting breakdowns and guitar melodies that breach the perimeters of melodic death metal.

A Zakk Wylde-style lick sends the double-kick fueled “Break The Silence” into overdrive as Joel explores lower vocal registers that are guttural enough to be considered in the death metal vein. Opener “In The First Degree” creeps toward you in very Static-X fashion, before the band launches a full-on pit-stomp assault. Speed suits Bloodjinn well. But their ear for tempo shifts makes that speed all the more deadly.

Four years is a long time between records for a young group like Bloodjinn. Thankfully, the band spent its time wisely. Though listeners who balk at the first evidence of a breakdown may be leery, Bloodjinn has enough ass-kicking charisma to slam the point home. This Machine Runs On Empty, is one of the biggest surprises this year.

By: moshninja