Bleed hails from Alberta, Canada and have been thrashing their way into the metal scene since 2010. At the 2015 Wacken Metal Battle Canada Final they stunned the audience with their horror themed show, filled with chaos of mayhem. Yet, it's not only the image and the performance, the music we hear on 'The Hatred Inside' simply kicks ass. Yes, another metal cliché but it is the best way to describe this album.
According the biography, the band is recommended for fans of Gwar, Coal Chamber, Slayer, Devil Driver, Static-X and Amon Amarth and in a way that is quite to the point but there's a lot more to it. After an intro, we're being treated to what sounds to me like very old school thrash metal induced horror stories. Demonic battles, a child-killing priest returning from the grave, rampaging viking hordes and other unsafe activities pass by at high velocity and fierce brutality.
Besides the thrash influences, there's of course some room for death metal in the vein of bands like Obituary or Benediction, but just as much for old school heavy metal. Some of the solos on this album could have been created by Iron Maiden. Yet, above all the music sounds as savage and crushing as most of the protagonists in these stories and can easily become fan favorites on concerts. I can imagine an entire audience singing along with smashers like 'Committed' or 'Suffocate'.
'Murder Baby', a song about bad decisions, is one of those fan favorites and also one of mine. This will surely make a lot of heads bang, probably covered in (hopefully fake) blood. 'Xombimind' pounds on your skull in a brilliant, almost hypnotic way. This one is about someone who is slowly becoming a zombie, written from his own standpoint. Musically, it has a tremendous punk-drive which is quite irristitable for me. I'll put that on the list of favorites too.
'The Hatred Inside' is a nice throwback and a perfect combination of horror and thrash metal. This quartet already proved that they can put up a convincing live show so there's little to stop them now from rising to the upper regions of today's metal scene. There they will have to compete with bands with a more modern style but Bleed shouldn't worry. Talent always prevails...
Serge