Most Precious Blood
Merciless
6.9
I’ve been sitting on this album for awhile, trying to think of how I felt about it. But after over a dozen listens, it’s not going to get any better or worse. On the one hand, it’s a pretty straightforward modern hardcore album. No emo crap, not too obsessed on the breakdowns, and of the Hatebreed and NYHC schools of hardcore. On the other hand, it’s probably the best material I’ve heard from Most Precious Blood, considering that I’ve never listened to their albums, but seen them play probably five times opening on various tours. So there it is, it’s a pretty good album.
Hailing from New York City, Most Precious Blood have been around since 2000 and have a few full-lengths to show for it. The sonic recipe is a bit like you’d expect: crunchy guitars that play a ton of big chords, clear and discernible bass, basic drumming, and an angry screamer behind the mic. In fact, the vocalist is Rob Fusco of the now-extinct One King Down. I used to really dig the older OKD albums, but here I think he can be a little too high-pitched for their music.
“Oxygen Debt” is the way I like to hear this hardcore played. It begins with a riff that you know is just a harbinger of destruction and then the rest of the song is played out nice and fast. “Driving Angry” is probably the clear-cut radio/video song. A lone bass line opens up the song in traditional NYHC style, next comes the catchy riffs and the happy chorus where the screams are backed up by cleanly sung vocals. The very next song gets back on track, with aggressive riffage and a pit-stirring, choppy chorus. Most Precious Blood is certainly a band that knows how to play to their audience and to their strengths. The final track, “Temporary Solution to a Permanent Problem”, sees the band really pushing their boundaries, with a morose yet stirring dirge.
Merciless is a well-done album that members of the hardcore set will surely enjoy, even if I’m not doing backflips for it. They aren’t a technical or progressive band, but they are an effective unit that knows how to work a crowd. Give them a chance if you usually reach for forceful hardcore with a wee-bit more depth than the Bury Your Dead’s and Since the Flood’s of the scene.
