Shai Hulud

Shai Hulud: That Within Blood Ill-TemperedThat Within Blood Ill-Tempered (2003)
Revelation Records

Reviewer Rating: 4.5

User Rating:

Contributed by: FortyMinutesWestFortyMinutesWest
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on May 20th 2003So here it is, the follow-up album that's been awaited almost six years in the making, the album that's been delayed countless times, and quite possibly the album of the year. The hybrid of metal and hardcore has become obnoxiously stale as of late, so it's only fitting that the band that helped put.

So here it is, the follow-up album that's been awaited almost six years in the making, the album that's been delayed countless times, and quite possibly the album of the year. The hybrid of metal and hardcore has become obnoxiously stale as of late, so it's only fitting that the band that helped put it on the map is the band that returns to give it a well needed kick in the ass. Shai Hulud is an ever changing band, one that at times has featured the likes of Damien Moyal and Chad Gilbert(yes, that Chad Gilbert). How would the numerous changes affect this release?

The band's first and only full-length release, "Hearts Once Nourished With Hope And Compassion" is considered to be a masterpiece by many people; how could they possibly match that album? The answer is simple; they didn't match it, they delivered a collection of songs that completely bests anything they've released in the past. The riff driven, style is still quite prevalent here, but it is much more intricate and varied. The technical, metallic riffs weave a tight, melodic thread while the soul shattering vocals scream out the band's lyrical message. There are times where the band appears to be going one direction, only to completely catch the listener off guard with a change of pace. Geert van der Velde's vocals are fierce, aggressive, angry, and completely human at the same time. None of that "cookie monster" growling here, just screamed vocals that come from the heart, instead of the bowels of hell. The additional background vocals of Matt Fox and co. only add to the intense atmopshere of the songs.

Since their first release, Shai Hulud has become one of the most admired and quoted bands in hardcore and it's subgenres in terms of lyrical content. That should not change after this release, in fact, the lyrics have matured just a much as their musical canvas. In the song "The Consummate Dragon", van der Velde exclaims "Could any being bask in malevolence? As if it's indifference might pardon it. This tyrant. He is fatherless, with the arrogance of a being that insists it created itself. What can it create? This uninspired muse rules only barren lands. It cannot create a thing." That's just a small taste of the intellectual poetry this band calls it's lyrics.

With this release, Shai Hulud has set a standard that many will now strive for. You can rest assured that this album with spawn hordes of imitators, but to top this album would be a task of daunting difficulty. Like the lightning that colors the sky during a storm or the flower among the ashes of some long since extinguished fire, Shai Hulud has once again brought to us the beauty of destruction and rage. I don't like to make album of year lists, especially not this early, but a work of this magnitude deserves a top spot on anyone's list.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

DrunkenThird (December 7, 2010)

One of the best records i've got

TheBluntman (November 25, 2009)

music like this just makes me smile

etwiels88 (November 11, 2005)

I forgot how good this band is

Anonymous (February 12, 2005)

Shai Hulud SUX BALLS!

Anonymous (August 3, 2004)

I love Shai Hulud's band. Their sound is truly their own. If you want to lump this album in with "metalcore", then you have a very original release. No predictable, over-used double bass drumming, breakdowns, etc.

Anonymous (January 15, 2004)

Death to false metal and a huge fuck off to so called hardcore bands that are only bad metal rip offs
Fucking die you fags

Anonymous (November 20, 2003)

slippy,

shut your mouth you moron.

Ghostmanon3 (July 22, 2003)

I think this album is a work of art. My opinion differs from those who had commented further down, I appreciate the way the tracks blend together, it gives the album an eccentric artsy feel and I dig that. Just my opinion. Oh yeah, lyrically, Shai Hulud should remain near the top of any hardcore list, its real and its poetry. Very good album.

Anonymous (July 11, 2003)

should I get the CD?

501 (June 19, 2003)

Good ablum I just got it... I love it.

slippy (June 3, 2003)

i havent listened to this record yet, but with all the fortyminuteswest hating going on, i would just like to say that let the fucker be. he can have his/her own damn opinion, god if you dont like his/her reviews stop reading them...anyway did anyone read this review on allmusic.com? its hilarious

Anonymous (May 26, 2003)

The lyrics are so purposely artsy- its rubbish.

Anonymous (May 24, 2003)

forty, i know you like the band. shai hulud has ben one of my favorite bands for 3 years, so i understand why. but when people bitch about the album, just realize they are whores and dont write fucking replys to them. they will never change their point of views, because they find pleasure in bitching about music. fuckem, rock on, i like most of your reviews by the way, shitgoat

FortyMinutesWest (May 24, 2003)

That Within Blood Ill-Tempered does make sense. It's not commonly used syntax, but it's certainly not fractured. It basically means "all that is encompassed in blood ill-tempered(anger, hostility, bitterness)". And the "without pretense" thing wasn't even said by the band, it's just in the press release for this CD. Press releases are designed to:

1. Make people buy an album, so of course they're full of superlatives
2. Give reviewers some info on the band, so of course they're full of superlatives.

No one said these guys were immortal, but the lyrics aren't THAT hard to understand. They use some archaic expressions sometimes, but that all goes back to the influence of classical poetry.

soulbleed (May 24, 2003)

the lyrics make sense? 'that within blood ill tempered' .. hmm. that syntax is so ripped apart and shit on it means absolutely nothing. but i guess far superior beings can do such a thing and have it still be rendered intellectual. pardon me

Anonymous (May 23, 2003)

Mistah t. Gets ill tempered with music like this! i pity tha foo' who listens to this garbage!

- mr. T

Anonymous (May 23, 2003)

The lyrics have always been hard to understand. It leaves the listener to develope their own opinion on the meaning of a song. Thats why I really dig Shai Hulud.

Anonymous (May 23, 2003)

The NFG side project sucks

FortyMinutesWest (May 23, 2003)

I don't know what you're talking about, the lyrics are great, and have meaning. They're not as dark as "Hearts Once Nourished.." but that's probably because of the member changes. Their lyrics have always been inspired by poetry, so none of this should shock anyone. How are they full of themselves? I've met them a bunch of times and they're some of the coolest, most down to earth people around.

soulbleed (May 23, 2003)

i love shai hulud .. but i'm beginning to wonder if they were the ones who got in that bus accident instead of candiria. it looks like they're a little retarded these days - nothing they say has any meaning or makes any sense at all. the fact that they quote to do things 'without pretention' makes me want to laugh - are they so full of themselves that they can't even see what they are? jeez. avoid the lyrics - and this album is the best hardcore effort in years.

Anonymous (May 23, 2003)

i just want to tell all of u that i can write better than u all....just so u know im better than ALL of you. I know im a good writer, u dont even have to critique me....i already know im better than u

FortyMinutesWest (May 23, 2003)

I used to do that, but then my computer crashed and I lost Word and a few other programs.

sk8punx4evr (May 23, 2003)

when i write reviews i just write them in word and then cut and paste it. i find it a lot easier. i'm such a seasoned reviewer, too.

FortyMinutesWest (May 22, 2003)

That was from me.

Anonymous (May 22, 2003)

Just write some reviews and if someone on the staff likes your writing they'll send you stuff.

relay1112 (May 22, 2003)

You're on the review staff? How does one get on the review staff?

Anonymous (May 22, 2003)

God damn. I love this album. Especially the song "She's Nubs".
That is some funny shit yo.

FortyMinutesWest (May 22, 2003)

Relay, the reason I write so many reviews is because I'm on the reviews staff and I get promos sent to me. I'm not complaining about that, in fact, I love it. I also wasn't saying you were a bad writer because you only wrote a few reviews. I meant that after writing alot of reviews you sometimes run out of things to say and it's tougher to be consistent. I proof read my reviews, but I'm one of those people who can read over something 10 times and yet not catch a certain error that ends up in the finished project. Finally, yeah, I might have gotten a little carried away here. However, I've been waiting for this album for almost 4 years, I reserve the right to act a little fanboyish in these type of situations.

relay1112 (May 22, 2003)

I took a nice shower and listened to some music, I'm in a good mood now, and I'd like to revoke that last post and say this:

Edit your reviews. Everyone comes up with a couple bad metaphors every once in a while. Just as long as it's not that poorly written, it's fine. Just make sure there aren't 50 grammatical errors. That is all.

Anonymous (May 22, 2003)

This is one of the better hardcore albums Ive heard this year. And a big fuck you to the assholes that jump on the reviewer's back for getting excited about an album.

TheOneTrueBill (May 22, 2003)

http://www.punknews.org/reviews.php?op=reviews&letter=auth&name= TheOneTrueBill

are these reviews well written?

TheOneTrueBill (May 22, 2003)

"I stab you as i write in my diary of the pains of summers past"

I'm now a nuevo hardcore kid

relay1112 (May 22, 2003)

Look, I mentioned that I used to write shitty reviews. Check my last post, it's there. All of the Modest Mouse reviews fall under that category, and probably a few I don't remember sucking right now. The reviews that come to mind right now that are good are my Red Animal War review and my Liars review. I think my Flaming Lips one is good, but can't remember.

So I do have good reviews. Whether or not you people like them, I don't care. They're better written than 99.99999% of the shite on here. Forty, you are actually one of the better writers, you just got carried away with some things in this review.

However, that metaphor you quoted (and I am flattered that you made the effort to go back and read my reviews to find ammunition against me) is less, shall we say, complicated and cheesy than your "a flower growing in the place of a long since extinguished flame" or whatever. I never said that metaphors are bad; on the contrary, if you can work them in right, they make a review 5000x better.

And just because I only have a few reviews doesn't mean I'm a bad writer. That's a horrible logic path. I write reviews on albums which are worth my time. Let's take my current batch of reviews (since I'm only talking about your recent few also). I review the CD's I feel are necessary to review. Eventually, my second Liars review will be put up (which I gave, if I can recall, somewhere around a 4.3). I write reviews of things I expect to be good, because I don't buy/listen to anything else. If I expect it to be good, and it sucks, guess what? Bad score!

And I am one to talk about this because (a) I write better reviews than 99% of the people here and (b) my reviews are actually relatively ERROR-FREE! If you write a good review, why ruin it with glaring grammatical errors? Just proof read it for five seconds before you press 'Submit.' I guess you don't have enough time to do that, though, since you write about 30 reviews per week.

So this wasn't supposed to be some huge attack on you, Forty, it was just some constructive criticism mixed with some asshole shit. Try to take what makes sense out of it. As for the rest of you anonymous kids, where were you when the other 500 kids criticized this review?

Anonymous (May 22, 2003)

This album is fucking golden. Forty writes reviews that I can tolerate. Him and Aubin are the only quality people reviewing albums.

And to Relay, your reviews are terrible sir.

Anonymous (May 22, 2003)

Oh, yeah, and about the album, my two cents:

Someone, below, said that he didn't like how the songs blend together. I second that. Aside from that,though, I think it is an incredible record. I like the new vocalist better too and enjoy this record more than their first full length. The album art work and jacket is great too.

Anonymous (May 22, 2003)

I have just recently started coming to this site, checking out the news updates,reading reviews, and then reading what most of you fuck sticks bitch about.

It's pretty funny how worked up you assholes get about someone's review of a CD. Didn't like the review? Didn't like the person who reviewed the CD? Thought the person kissed the band's ass? Who the fuck cares. No one's making you read it. Infact, no one is making you come to this site; actaully, why don't you go write your own review(s). Really, it's getting lame. I come to this site and read the reviews to see what people are saying about new stuff that's out...not to have a bunch of dip shits who have nothing better than to do than to get on the internet and rag on some kid because he kissed a band's ass or didn't use a comma in a sentence. Go get a fucking life. Write you own review. Grow up.

*Just the observations of a person who occasionally visits/reads reviews on this site

FortyMinutesWest (May 22, 2003)

What about "The Fall Of Every Man"? They're coming out with a collection of rare songs called "A Life In Chapters" or something like that.

Anonymous (May 22, 2003)

getting back to the point, this album is fair at best. while the layout is fucking fantastic, the songs totally tend to blur into each other, and yet no parts remain distinct in my mind. bummer. i can understand a band wanting to at tons of depth to their songs, but at the same time, shai hulud tends to fall back on the same tricks and riffs time and time again. there's nothing for me to grab onto. still, killer layout. their split with another victim is fucking mint, as is their first full length and demo. peace.

FortyMinutesWest (May 22, 2003)

We'll always have Hellfest sickboi. Speaking of which, are you still going. And relay, if you want to discuss this further you can IM me, the screen name shouldn't be too hard to guess.

sickboi (May 22, 2003)

Forty is lucky I'm hetero, I'd be all over him.

Anonymous (May 22, 2003)

i love this new cd, everyone who says it's bad.... eat a bag of dicks. Good review, i thought you did a very good job. Well written.

FortyMinutesWest (May 22, 2003)

Not to over post but, most of my reviews are down to earth and nothing like this one. This was something special and I wanted the review to reflect that, hence the break from my ordinary style.

FortyMinutesWest (May 22, 2003)

Oh it's relay, you don't know how honored I am by your presence. I'm condescending? Maybe that would have a little weight coming from someone else. Yes, and your comment about how I feign intelligence really breaks my heart, because you've never used any sort of metaphors, imagery, etc.in any of your reviews. "In contrast with my desire to experience the entire album instantaneously, bleeding it dry in one fell swoop, El Cielo is more of a methodical bloodletting. " now who could have said that? I'm not calling you a bad reviewer, because you aren't, but you're not one to criticize people over such things. You've reviewed all of 8 albums, nearly half of which are by Modest Mouse. Why don't you try reviewing some bands you don't like, you know, the kind you get when people send you promos. It's alot easier to review bands you're usually willing to give nearly perfect scores to than to review bands that don't quite strike a chord with you. Obviously I'm far from the best reviewer, but I'm not the worst either. I'm going to keep writing reviews until I run out of promos, whether you like it or not.

Anonymous (May 21, 2003)

relay, you got any good reviews to share with us? no? stop whining and leave the man alone.

relay1112 (May 21, 2003)

Little tip Forty: chill out with the language. I used to write reviews like yours, and then I realized I didn't know what the fuck I was saying (eg. cheesy bullshit about flowers growing from a long since extinquished flame and the beauty of destruction). Learn how to use "it's" and "its", learn how to use commas, proofread your shit, and then write a review. Oh, yeah, and write with language you can actually use. Your reviews are as corny as those lyrics you cited. Maybe you would be better off writing "This band is good. I like it." reviews than shitty attempts at prose like "lightning that colors the sky during a storm."

Along with this, any time you respond to anyone's criticism, it's faux-intellectualism and pseudo-condescendence. You are not smarter than them so don't try. Oh, yeah, and "review audiotapes for the reading impaired," WOAAAAH! You aren't funny!

But, judging by your previous comments, you DON'T CARE what we have to think, and, in fact, we AMUSE you. So if you'd like to stick to that philosophy, don't respond and save yourself the trouble of thinking up some new metaphors to insult me.

Anonymous (May 21, 2003)

What a shitty band with a shitty album name.

Anonymous (May 21, 2003)

Are you jewish or something?

-feedmynightmare

Anonymous (May 21, 2003)

I honestly don't know how any hardcore fan could not like this album, I seriously don't. Also, I know someone will have something to say about this, so I will say that I am jewish, maybe that will be an easy starting point for critisism.

P.S. I hate yo momma and I did your sister, heh.

Anonymous (May 21, 2003)

What happened to WussEmoRock? Did someone get angry enough at him to beat him up outside of the internet?

Anonymous (May 21, 2003)

Ice 800 you fools. Ice brewed malt liquor=flavor country.

-sickboi

FortyMinutesWest (May 21, 2003)

I hope so, watching all these people get angry is pretty entertaining. And the reigning champion is Mickey's Ice.

pope_schlomo (May 21, 2003)

i think forty is gonna be the next wussemorock. you know the guy we love to hate. and it's not about the hurricane...it's either king cobra or olde english.

Ramo
(olde english yodels=dinner for 2)

FortyMinutesWest (May 21, 2003)

Ok so maybe I'll change this review to:
"SHai Hulud is a real good band, they play fast, and sometimes not fast! The guitars are pretty and good! The vocals are scareee but not too scareee! Just right!" or maybe I'll include Cliff Notes or an audio review for the reading impaired. I'm sorry but if a band releases a really good album, they're going to get a really positive review. But feel free to keep bitching, because I really don't care what you have to say.

Anonymous (May 21, 2003)

Shai Hulud? What a shitty band.

I saw them once and while they are energetic as hell on stage, I wanted to burst out laughing with their "vocals". Then I remembered was surrounded by a bunch of angry hardcore kids beating the shit out of each other in the pit and me laughing about them and the vocals would've been bad news.

Anonymous (May 21, 2003)

Wow, how incredibly not funny.

-feedmynightmare

Anonymous (May 21, 2003)

This review in under 30 words:

slurp slurp slurp mmmmm "i love shai's nuts they are so warm and tasty in my mouth" slurp slurp gag swallow cough "please sir can i have another?"

FortyMinutesWest (May 20, 2003)

Oh shit, it was Hurricane? That kid should be shot.

sickboi (May 20, 2003)

You have your definition of Hurricane, I have mine....

FortyMinutesWest (May 20, 2003)

I don't see what's so funny about wasting moderately tolerable alcohol.

sickboi (May 20, 2003)

"Forty bashing"...one time some kid in 7-11 dropped like 5 forties on the floor, it was hysterical.

evildeadalive (May 20, 2003)

What's with all the Forty bashing lately? So he's a bit of a skid, aren't we all? I think he writes pretty decent reviews, a hell of a lot better than a lotta other people on here. Give a kid a break. "What the fuck have you done?"

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

Once again FourtyMinutesWest has managed to produced a shit review of an album... This comes as no suprise to anyone who has ever read one of his/her reviews yet fails to take our hints on stop fucking reviewing cds... Incredible cd nonetheless, seriously, it's great, go buy it... now

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

Ummm...ok...
"Shai Hulud is the worst ska ever"
is this a joke? I hope so.

Minor Threat is always the best hardcore, by the way.

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

"he meant the haunted you stupid ass"

ok.... like i said *retard alert*

weakpeoplecannotbesincere,
-feedmynightmare

FortyMinutesWest (May 20, 2003)

""Korn rules dude"

No way, dude, they are totally "bogus" thrash trash.

"that's true hardcore."

A bunch of nappy haired losers shouting "fuck the world" while hitting random notes? I thought Black Flag was hardcore. I guess they're classical now. "

The comment about Korn was sarcasm, you idiot. But I'm glad you took it seriously, your little rant was pretty entertaining

"And to the person below, I like a wide range of music, not just hardcore and death metal. And if you're thinking "Well that's all you review!", well I review what I'm sent, and that's mostly what it is. I like death metal, hardcore, punk,"

No, you don't like punk. You only listen to 4th generation shit bands that rip off old bands. That isn't punk, that's shit. And hardcore is bland crap. "

Thanks for telling me what I listen to, it's not like I would know

"grind, thrash, and whole array of things, don't pigeonhole me."

You're way too easy to "pigeonhole". You like music that sounds the same. That's okay, but don't try to force your unintelligent opinion on others."

I'm not forcing my opinion on anyone, if anyone is guilty of that, it's you. If you think all those genres sound the same then you really have no clue what you're talking about.

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

he meant the haunted you stupid ass

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

"I may not like Shai Hulud... in fact, i think they are horrible, but i do love The Haunting"

The HAUNTED. *retard alert, retard alert*

Anyways this album is amazing. Its better than The Haunted which sounds like any other swedish metal band. This is already my favorite release of the year and will be hard to top. but the new moneen cd comes out soon. See Ive got love for all genres.

clickbeeeeeeep,
-feedmynightmare

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

"That should not change after this release, in fact, the lyrics have matured just a much as their musical canvas. In the song "The Consummate Dragon", van der Velde exclaims "Could any being bask in malevolence? As if it's indifference might pardon it. This tyrant. He is fatherless, with the arrogance of a being that insists it created itself. What can it create? This uninspired muse rules only barren lands. It cannot create a thing." That's just a small taste of the intellectual poetry this band calls it's lyrics."

Sounds like they're describing their music. And their music sucks, as well as the dumb melodramatic lyrics.

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

We can all agree with the below statement.

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

Hardcore blandness! Yay!

Forty is such a fuckin' trendy.

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

I may not like Shai Hulud... in fact, i think they are horrible, but i do love The Haunting... and I must say, after some serious listening and giving this band more than a little chance at winning me over, I may still think they are crap, but I don't hear one god damn riff of The Haunting's on this.

I wanted to like this... I really did. I'm in love with the Frank Herbert books, but this band doesn't live up to the Dune chronicles at all. Nor do they live up to the hype that surrounds them musicly.

On another note, Harkonnen is absolute crap too. Why must all bands named after Dune be so terrible?

FortyMinutesWest (May 20, 2003)

Are you serious? I listen to the Haunted too, and I just don't here the riffs they used.

melvyl (May 20, 2003)

yeah, this band is still cool, but they've ripped alot of riffs from the haunted, i mean, it's atleast more than 5, from the same cd.

i like this.
but angry white boy polka, fuccckaa it kicks ass.

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

shai hulud is like cheese sandwich - smelly, byproduct of a cow between two slices of fermented yeast and flour

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

shai hulud are the worst ska band since no doubt

sk8punx4evr (May 20, 2003)

goddamnit, i've been waiting for quite a while and it's sold out when i get to the store. thursday, bros, thursday! the 2 teaser songs i heard owned ass.

turdcorn (May 20, 2003)

Forty is right. This is a solid release. Fuck all you haters too, this review was well written.

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

it's = it is
its = possessive version of "it"

pope_schlomo (May 20, 2003)

"Minerva" and "Good Morning Beautiful" are pretty good.

Ramo

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

bah. the music on this record is almost as bad as the song titles/lyrics are pretentious.

here's a short story: there once was a band called shai hulud from florida. they were good. then their singer left to go play in a blink 182 rip off band that appeals mainly to children under 12. then they took time off. now they suck.

bummer.

it's only a matter of time before zombie apocalypse eclipses this pretentious, illiterate garbage anyway.

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

The new Deftones is stellar.

-sickboi

pope_schlomo (May 20, 2003)

damian and culture fuckin kills. need to pick me up some new shai hulud this week.

Ramo
(I rather hear snuffleupagus growling)

Mr_Pink (May 20, 2003)

I wasn't knocking the sentiment behind it at all.

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

well mr. pink, when an album is as awesome as this one is, you tend to expect a glowing review.

-pwfanatic

FortyMinutesWest (May 20, 2003)

Next time I'll write "This band roxorz!!1111

Anonymous (May 20, 2003)

its about time this came out. its well worth the wait.