Bleed From Within – Fracture

Like your metal fast, filled with groove, technical prowess and a bark to match its bite? Then Bleed From Within‘s Fracture is the choice for you. From the very second ‘The End Of All We Know’ hits your ears, you find yourself strapped to a rocket of mayhem. ‘Pathfinder’ amps up the pace with some devastatingly fast and accurate drumming, ‘Into Nothing’ stomps on strong showing they don’t need to be fast to be good, but ‘Fall Away’ finds a great middle-ground between both gears there.

Title track ‘Fracture’ is our first real taste of anything not turned to eleven, and the swells between the lighter moments into the harder sides are executed fantastically. ‘Night Crossing’ brings more catchy hooks and a taste of life at home with their impressive and humorous take on a video in lockdown, starring a little known guest for the guitar solo to boot. ‘For All To See’ has some magical riff work and challenges the listener with switches in a pace that’ll have any pit going through all the gears. ‘Ascend’ darts out with some of the thrashiest material on the album, much to the contrast, ‘Utopia’ doesn’t keep that pace and digs in the heels with a heavy groove, especially building up to the solo. ‘A Depth That No One Dares’ matches the caliber of the album opener with its technical touches, closing out in exceedingly strong fashion.

As a whole, Fracture is genuinely as flawless an album you could find, a brutal vocal attack throughout that is reminiscent of Stampin’ Ground/Romeo Must Die from Scott Kennedy, trading off to the cleaner sounds of guitarist Steven Jones. The riff work between both Steven and Craig is fantastic, and Craig has really upped the game when it comes to leads, they sit on a heavy foundation with bassist Davie Provan and the drumming from Ali Richardson showcases some of his finest work, even against his work with Sylosis. The level of maturity and growth in the band is above and beyond what could have been anticipated, while their last release ‘Era’ is only a couple of years old and good in its own right, it pales in comparison to Fracture, such is the quality of this record, this really shows their own personal developments alone and as a unit, as they copy the exact same recording process as Era.

Bleed From Within may have set a bar for themselves, but they’ve far surpassed it with this, and they completely deserve all the recognition they get. Easily one of 2020’s finest moments in a sea of darkness, Fracture is scheduled for release on May 29th through Century Media, do yourself a favour and buy this!