Scottish brutalists Bleed From Within continue their ascent with armour-plated seventh album, Zenith.
Patience and perseverance are underrated virtues in the world of heavy music. Where other acts have experimentally scrabbled in search of some viral moment or serendipitous big break, Bleed From Within have relentlessly held course for two decades now. Repeatedly written off as journeymen, said to have been playing it safe or cleaving too close a trail already blazed by bigger bands, the gutsy Glaswegians have simply doubled-down on their brand of melodic munch, fine-tuning on one release after the next.
Seventh album Zenith doesn’t change that approach, but it does radiate with the confidence of having finally reaped some massive rewards. Crushing Download Festival three of the last four years? Smashing the support slot on Slipknot’s European arena tour? Plotting a statement headline run of their own for the autumn, culminating with two inevitably sold-out nights at Glasgow’s legendary Barrowland Ballroom? Almost imperceptibly, Bleed From Within have transformed themselves from reliable Brit metal finishers into bona fide heavyweight contenders, and these 11 songs pile on further layers of rippling beef.
Opener Violent Nature roots us stubbornly in the core BFW sound, all flesh-ripping guitars, ear-gouging vocals and stomach churning grooves that could’ve come from anywhere in their catalogue. But second track In Place Of Your Halo belongs firmly to there here and now, its breathtaking hooks (‘I DROP THE NOOSE!’) and bagpipe-laden final flourish overflowing with self-assuredness. The shapeshifting title-track deploys passages of pit-spinning savagery alongside moments of atmospheric self-reflection. God Complex, meanwhile, audaciously emulates the epic, arena-ready magnitude of latter-day Parkway Drive.
Naming the album Zenith could be a tease that this is as good as it’s going to get. That’s surely inaccurate. Guest pots from Mastodon wizard Brann Dailor on operatic highlight Immortal Desire and ex-Architects guitarist/Sylosis mainman Josh Middleton on thrashy penultimate track Hands Of Sin showcase how far BFW have come, yes, but they also emphasise a willingness to challenge themselves to keep mixing it with metal’s biggest names.
As final track Edge Of Infinity sees them roaring off into a smouldering widescreen sunset, it’s hard not to feel like there are still bigger victories yet to be won.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: Trivium, Sylosis, Parkway Drive
Zenith is released on April 4 via Nuclear Blast
