EP REVIEW: The Bad Kind Decides – Bad Blood

Fresh from last year’s TERROR album Pain Into Power, the band’s vocalist Scott Vogel again proves he is not a man to rest on his laurels at all and is back with his new band BAD BLOOD. Their first release, The Bad Kind Decides EP, provides five tracks of the pummelling hardcore that Vogel has made a name with since he first started as BURIED ALIVE vocalist in the 90s.

The band (who are named after Buffalo hardcore legends ZERO TOLERANCE‘s first 7 inch) features Vogel alongside a host of members of Buffalo hardcore bands in guitarists Eric Ellman (from THEY LIVE and VIOLENT WAY) and Mason Hutchins (VIOLENT WAY), bassist Greg Vinal (EXHIBITION) and drummer Nick Terlecky (also VIOLENT WAY) and together they raise hell throughout their debut release.

From the get-go, BAD BLOOD don’t play games and as the distorted intro from opening stomp Bust/Bad Blood morphs into a cleaner bassline with Vogel‘s familiar snarling vocals kicking it into life you know it’s game on and this feeling doesn’t let up until the last notes of the EP’s closing title track ring out triumphantly.

As you would expect, this is furious and brutal hardcore with the distinctive vocals obviously a focal point. But far from being another variation of what TERROR do, BAD BLOOD have their own hardcore thing going on, with the incomparable WARZONE obviously a big influence, and this adds up to a varied form of hardcore music being presented here.

Tracks like Fear Is All and Lost To Sun are straight ahead hardcore bruisers while lead single Apology Denied adds a touch more groove to proceedings, and the results are nothing less than electric and show that all the members of the band are on point when it comes to creating and executing these hardcore anthems. The production on The Bad Kind Decides is spot on too and comes courtesy of Jay Zubricky, (who has worked with SNAPCASE in the past). It sounds crisp, gets straight to the point and suits what BAD BLOOD are going for well – hopefully this pairing will be used again in the future.

The Bad Kind Decides is a great introduction to the music of BAD BLOOD and with its compact listening time it’s a short, sharp, shock of songs that crackle with energy. Hopefully a full-length album from the band is in the offing in the near future.

Rating: 7/10

The Bad Kind Decides is set for release on March 31st via Flatspot Records.

Follow BAD BLOOD on Instagram.