Review: Burned Up Bled Dry ‘Next Stop… Dead Stop…’
On one hand, the bursts of high intensity, unbridled fury that await those brave enough to engage with the new album from the grindcore and power violence merchants known as Burned Up Bled Dry will have listeners slamming their heads in metallic glee.
On the other hand, there’s also enough diversity to keep an equally diverse batch of listeners invested in Next Stop… Dead Stop…
Hailing from Fort Smith, Arkansas, Burned Up Bled Dry formed in 1996. While they dropped a handful of EPs and splits starting in 1997, their career has been punctuated by lengthy hiatuses, making this year’s output their very first full-length album
Over a total of twenty-six tracks, Next Stop… Dead Stop…pummels listeners with a blend of grindcore, hardcore and power violence. I personally lean more to the hardcore sound, which is one reason that I connected with this record. That being said, the way that they blend in the grind is perfectly done.
Over a total of twenty-six tracks, Next Stop… Dead Stop… pummels listeners with a blend of grindcore, hardcore and power violence…
The sequencing dictates the flow of the album, and it works fantastically. These songs are arranged in the perfect order, moving seamlessly from one to the next for maximum effect. The absolute standout, in this writer’s humble opinion, is Don’t Care. Clocking in at nearly four minutes, it is the longest and most interesting song on the record.
It feels like they really tried to do something different here, crafting a track meant to stick out from its counterparts. It kicks off with an almost sludge/doom metal vibe thanks to a slow guitar riff that is perfectly accentuated by the drumming. Gone are the grind and hardcore elements, replaced by a feeling of dread-filled doom that permeates the track. As an enormous fan of doom and its related genres, this song is the epitome of what I love about them.
Beyond this standout, some of my other favorite cuts include the scathing Drawing Board, the relentless Razors, the crushing Black Ice, and the frantic Under A Lens. If any of this sounds good to you, make sure you give this incredible, long-running band your undivided attention!
Label: Prank Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Tom Hanno
