The following was originally published in our Artist of the Month section.
Review by Dr Fever
I remember the first time
I ever saw Bloodjinn live. It was the Summer of 2000 at the American
Leigon in Charleston, WV. I remember hearing them and thinking "Wow. Now,
THIS is an original band." In todays cluttered music scene where indivduality,
talent and creativity have given way to gimmicks and sounding like damn
near every other band that's "out there" at the moment, Bloodjinn is a
refreshing break from that and now, some two years after I first saw them
I can say (without reservation) that they hold the title of "Best Band
You're Never Heard Of".
In the time Bloodjinn has
been together, these North Carolina boys have released a number of albums
('Bleed The Demon', 'Murder Eternal-Seven Short Stories For The Slightly
Psychotic' and their latest masterpiece, available this April; "Leave
This World Breathing"), appeared on a couple of compilations
("Closer Than Kin" with Drained, Common Thread and Standing Tall.
As well as "Born In Hell, Raised In Jail" with Sever The Fallen,
Acedia and The End Of All just to name a couple) and also rocked shows
up and down the East Coast.
Musically, well, Bloodjinn
is like a shotgun blast to the face from close range. You never see it
coming. To say these guys are heavy doesn't do the word justice. The new
album, "Leave This World Breathing" (Goodfellow Records) is light
years ahead (musically) in comparsion to previous Bloodjinn releases. It's
mind boggling. On previous albums the guys showed their ability to blow
you away with the heaviness. Songs like "Foresaken on 52", "Seconds" and
"The Adventures Of Johnny Blue Collar" (all from "Murder Eternal..." still
available through Tribunal Records) showed flashes of the heavy music potential
that was there, but "Leave This World Breathing" brings all of the
potential out and blows right into new territory. The process is helped
along by the bands willingness to move beyond the trappings of regular
"hardcore" and expanding into the realm of Metal (think of it as Metalcore).
The biggest improvement is definatly in the guitar work. Guitarists Carter
Pennington and BJ Stevens expand out of the usual "chugga chugga" riffing
and even throw in some solos that would make Kerry King smile. Not that
the guitar work on previous albums was bad (far from it), but this stuff
is just on some (to borrow a phrase) "next level s*!t." Drummer Justin
Collins takes his usual battering drums and turns it up a notch, or two,
or twelve, and vocalist Joel Collins takes his vocals to another level
as well, stepping out of his howl and adding depth, a talent that is sometimes
sorely lacking in the realm of hardcore/metal. Hell, he even throws in
some melody, but not in that "I'm Emo. I'm gonna cry and write poetry"
kinda way (FYI: Carter eats Emo kids with his Cheerios in the morning..HAHA).
Bloodjinn is currently on
tour, supporting the release of "Leave This World Breathing", so if they
come to your town or anywhere NEAR your town and you like heavy music go
out, strap on your dancing shoes and prepare to get your ass kicked by,
again, "The Greatest Band You've Never Heard Of."
