EP REVIEW: Blood Runs Cold – Blood Runs Cold

Old school metallic hardcore has made a phenomenal comeback in recent years. Pay close attention to the release schedules of labels like The Coming Strife, Ephyra and DAZE and you’ll find some quality little EP or split or even the occasional full-length that harks back to the glory of the 90s and early 00s almost on a weekly basis at this point. This Friday the latter of those labels steps up once again, releasing the self-titled debut EP from Long Island, NY outfit BLOOD RUNS COLD.

Formed by brothers Evan and Dillon Perino of SEPARATED and SANCTION respectively, and comprising members of various bands from the Long Island scene, BLOOD RUNS COLD have their eyes set on only the most violent strain of metallic hardcore, their sound heavily indebted to the likes of ARKANGEL, ALL OUT WAR and BURIED ALIVE. The production makes this clearer still – a relatively but not absurdly raw mix that suits the band’s serrated metallic style perfectly and firmly evokes that bristle and bleed type charm that characterises many of the genre’s classics. 

Marking the band out most of all however are the vocals of Joey Chiaramonte; best known for his work in melodic hardcore up and comers KOYO, here he employs a far more anguished rasp than any of the singing you’ll find in that band. He sits on the higher end of the harsh vocal spectrum – not far from Bryan Garris of KNOCKED LOOSE perhaps – and proves the perfect vehicle through which to hammer home the EP’s themes of loneliness and mortality. The lyrics provided find poetic writings that feel both desperate and hateful, in one track Chiaramonte offering the devastating “Nothing and no one brings life to my eyes”, and in the next the absolutely merciless “A full firing squad wouldn’t be enough / Hit the asphalt cold, just a passing thought, rot.”

Turning more specifically to the music, Blood Runs Cold delivers extensively on what you would expect from a record like this: jagged metallic riffing, a few Gothenburg-isms, and plenty of big chugging breakdowns. It is largely the same few essentials arranged in various orders across six savage tracks, and yet there is very little to find fault with. This band know who they want to be and what they want to do and they do it wonderfully; plus, with a runtime of less than 17 minutes, the record runs no serious risk of listener fatigue and if anything actually probably works best when given at least a couple of spins on the trot.

For one reason or another the legendary words of DJ KHALED feel strangely apt here: “another one”. These metallic hardcore throwbacks just keep coming at the moment, and yet it seems almost impossible to find a dud. Perhaps it’s because the only reason one would want to play this kind of music is for the love of it – it’s certainly not the easiest way of getting big in hardcore at the moment – and that passion and understanding of what makes the genre great in turn fuels further greatness. But obviously some people will also just be more of a mark for this stuff than others, and if that is you then Blood Runs Cold will make an excellent and inevitable addition to your heavy rotation.

Rating: 8/10

Blood Runs Cold is set for release on July 28th via DAZE.