Crimes

The next entry in this project is The Blood Brothers’ Crimes record, which was released in 2004. The Blood Brothers formed in Seattle in 1997. They released five full-length albums during their 10-year life, ultimately peaking in popularity nationally in 2006. Their style has mostly been described as post-hardcore, which broadened the focus of the original hardcore, which itself was based off punk and built off of very fast tempos, loud volume and heavy bass. The difference between post-hardcore and hardcore is the delivery, particularly with vocals, which could shift from a whisper to wild yells in an instant.

Anyway, the Blood Brothers broke up in 2007 due to creative and individual differences. In the original announcement in early 2007 the band announced they were going on hiatus to pursue individual interests. But later in November 2007 they officially announced their split. The band’s style of post-hardcore evolved over their ten-year period, particularly with the guitars and bass guitars shifting to a softer dynamic while the drums and vocals kicked it up a notch. Crimes is the culmination of their growth as a band.

#191 – The Blood Brothers, Crimes (Metascore = 85)

One thing I should point out about the Blood Brothers is their signature sound is the dueling vocals of Johnny Whitney and Jordan Billie. Whitney tends to sound like he’s a little kid screaming his lungs out, while Billie’s voice has a low growl to it. This is very apparent from the get go with “Feed Me to the Forest”. Inc “Feed Me to the Forest” Whitney and Billie lament about the ugliness of this over-industrialized era we live in. “Trash Flavored Trash” trashes the news media and the ugly world the media portrays; case in point the line “I wanna see more dirty places. Take me to the hall of filthy faces.” Anger against the U.S. government and media permeates throughout this record. For examples, check out “Peacock Skeleton with Crooked Feathers”.

There are some other themes, though, that come out on the record. In “Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck” Whitney and Billie croon about the failure of a guy in one relationship to give that relationship up for a shallow alternative and ultimately losing his friends. “Teen Heat” is a direct rant against artist distribution company Artistdirect with whom the band was in a heated battle at the time.

Musically this album wasn’t as wildly loud as I was expecting. In fact, in many ways I thought they had the same dynamics as bands such as At the Drive-In or Quicksand or, in a less post-hardcore way, Mars Volta. Definitely a punk record, but it was an interesting listen.

The first time I heard this album I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I wasn’t a big fan of the screaming, but it helps to read lyric sheets while listening. Whitney and Billie are creative lyricists, and the themes they scream about are presented in an interesting way. If you like hardcore or punk, this record might be up your alley. Otherwise, you may be turned off by the screaming.