Downset: One Blood review
After a 10 year hiatus hardcore punk rap/metal veterans Downset have finally returned with their new album One Blood. An album 10 years in the making and unlike Guns n Roses\’ Chinese Democracy, was well worth the wait.
The album is their fifth full length overall and is available via iTunes and Amazon on the band’s own label. It is an emotional exorcism that blends elements of Deftones, Rage Against The Machine, Suicidal Tendencies, Pantera and Black Sabbath that should reaffirm their position as one of the best in the business.
One Blood was produced by guitarist Brian Ares Schwager and mixed by Wesley Seldman in no less than 3 different studios. Schwager said, “Doing the video for lead single “One Blood” put a big breathe of fresh air back into the lungs of Downset, giving us new life.”
That new life and a renewed sense of purpose can be immediately felt in the rumbling basslines and mass bedlam of opening salvo “One Blood.” It has all the carnage of a war zone and features a neck snapping hardcore breakdown. While “Without” and “Know Me” are bone rattling chugfests that will leave you bloodied, bruised and broken.
Elsewhere, the intro of “Champion” briefly retraces the steps of Limp Bizkit before turning on a metal dime, erupting into crushing rhythmic soundscapes and the pummeling battery of sound in “All I Got” and “It’s Your World” follows the modus operandi of hardcore legends Hatebreed.
At the same time, “Why Can’t We Wait” is a brutal dose of old school punk, infused with hardcore breakdown. While “Tu Corazon” is a cross pollinated hybrid that defies genre classification and bridges the language barrier.
From the Fu-Manchu tinged “Passion” that pays homage to their classic rock roots, while maintaining a hefty metallic bite to “No Doubt,” which builds on the foundation of 2004’s Universal and comes off a little like a lost Stuck Mojo song, there is something for fans of just about every type of metal to enjoy on One Blood.
Here’s the bottom line- A solid release and a damn fine comeback. If you are not yet familiar with Downset, it is high time you acquaint yourself with them.
Rating: 8/10
-Eric Hunker