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Bands with ‘blood’ or ‘bleed’ in the name same to share a common bond. They all make really, really bad music: Blood For Blood, Bleeding Through, and a plethora of other metalcore bands which undoubtedly have blood in their name somewhere. It’s a real stigma that’s been attached to that word when used in conjunction with music, and I can’t tell you Bleeding Kansas’ 1859 is not any different at all. To their credit, it comes from a somewhat interesting basis, as the time starting in 1861 when the pro-slave, pro-staters, and abolitionist were engulfed in a bloody struggle. And while the music has its interesting parts, it mainly falls by the wayside.

This is not the absolute most derivative metalcore I’ve ever heard, but it falls in with so many of the very same clichés bands become victim to. Since the press sheet made such a point to attempt and draw parallels between the lyrics and civil war imagery, I think I’ll start with that. There are isolated incidents where the connection is somewhat evident, as in "Dig Your Own Grave:" “Don’t put up your defenses / Someone call a doctor / This man has been bleeding for weeks / Give us a flag / There’s something to fight for.” Most of the lyrics, however, are far more trivial, and just add nothing to the music, or the vocals which I’ll get to in a minute. Whereas imagery was strongly shown in those last lines, the lyrics from "Hanging By A Thread" just make you think these guys aren’t even trying; “ In the car, words spill out / Pick them up, put them back together / They just fall apart / Being alone, no one to talk to / I call and call, no one’s there / I don’t feel like eating / I never have.” Wow. I’m lost for words on that. I really am.

It’s at this point where I’d hope the screaming is so utterly incoherent that I won’t be subjected to the lyrics, but that’s not the case here either. I was reminded of the lead singer of Scraps And Heart Attacks, which is unfortunate, because Scraps And Heart Attacks were a pretty solid band. The vocals aren’t horrible, but they just don’t provide any intensity; it’s kind of a lazy sound. And what goes well with lazy vocals? Lazy guitars, lazy drums, and lazy bass.

Every song just gives the overwhelming feeling that these guys are going through the motions. They don’t particularly care whether there’s any passion or intensity in the music, just as long as it gets done. The one instance I found where the music is slightly engaging is "Love With A .45," which provides for some solid guitar at points and keeps a good pace. Other than that, though, things are just far too slow, and lacking in any sort of drive. Once an a while, some cool basslines are thrown in, but it happens far too sparingly. The drums are apparent, but nothing ever sticks out enough for any real sort of notice to be taken. Which is, again, the underlying problem for this entire album; it’s boring.

I’d advise you to stay away from this album if at all possible. Yeah, you could make it through a listen, or maybe two if you wanted to push it, before you wanted to throw it out, but there’s absolutely no incentive to do so. Even for diehard metalcore fans, there's so much better you can do than this.






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    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 12:58 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    this is great stuff...its not metalcore either..they sound kinda like mewithoutyou..another fucking great band..as a matter of fact theres a good chance they have the same singer..this album is fucking 30 minutes of ace hardcore.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 18, 2006 at 12:43 AM (EST)

    okay bleeding kansas is a historical refernce.
    read!

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, July 14, 2005 at 2:48 AM (EDT)

    what a bad review this fag doesn't even listen to metal ! its like if i would review any rap or country cd, id give them all horrible reviews. BLEEDING KANSAS IS AWESOME!

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, May 9, 2005 at 7:10 AM (EDT)

    BLOOD FOR BLOOD... you cannot lump these guys together with Bleeding Through. You sir, are retarded.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 22, 2005 at 11:01 AM (EDT)

    what the fuck??? metalcore??? ok ok thats it, this review is lame, blood for blood are awesome, the writer should kill him/herself

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 20, 2005 at 12:44 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    What a stupid review. This band and record are great. Metalcore? Duh.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, February 7, 2005 at 2:43 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    yeah, i like hockey also.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, February 4, 2005 at 5:06 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Hey, I was recently at a huge brawl and a blood for bllod show broke out.

    That joke never gets old!
    -Ken

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, February 3, 2005 at 6:23 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    well, I have to hand it to them that they're a very hard-working band. They're good friends with a bunch of bands in my area and I've seen them about a dozen times in the last 4 years or so. It's about time somebody put a record out by them, at the very least. They play 30-40 LA area shows a year and have a deccent fallowing. Really nice guys and great live performers

    Posted by Anchors on 2005-02-03 11:51:56
    My Score:

    Good thing you put in that second string of 'hahaha's', because I doubt he caught it the first time.

    Posted by hobbitcore on 2005-02-03 03:54:07
    My Score:

    hahahahahahahahahahahaha

    Posted by hobbitcore on 2005-02-03 03:53:43
    My Score:

    Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, February 3, 2005 at 12:00 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Hey guys! Starting this weekend my promotion company, Poison Fingers Promo, will be giving away more than 200 tickets to various dates on the world famous Taste of Chaos Tour, featuring the best bands in punk, hardcore, and emo today - including, The Used, My Chemical Romance, Senses Fail, Killswitch Engage, and many more!!
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    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, February 2, 2005 at 8:11 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    fuck this review. Blood For Blood is great. white trash hardcore at its best.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, February 2, 2005 at 7:09 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Scores for Crimes and Tendacious D
    You create something like crimes, you piece of shit, you fucking shit.

    Posted by hobbitcore on 2005-02-02 15:45:48
    My Score:

    whoa wait wait wait....so someone was trying to argue that Bleeding Through isn't metalcore? are they deaf?

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, February 2, 2005 at 1:46 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    What a crap review. You have to see this band live to understand how intense they are. Solid metalcore.

    Posted by punkcorekid on 2005-02-02 11:30:07
    My Score:

    well blood for blood don't make bad music either. and the new blood brothers...not horrible, but not good.

    Posted by Anchors on 2005-02-01 21:49:06
    My Score:

    For the last time, I never said Blood For Blood, or Bleeding Through were metalcore, you're interpreting the statement the wrong way.

    And I didn't add the Blood Brothers to my list of shitty 'blood' bands, because I find them to be extremely talented.

    Posted by punkcorekid on 2005-02-01 20:22:02
    My Score:

    bloody sunday are a good band with blood in their name.

    and i'll add to everyone saying blood for blood is not metalcore.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 8:15 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    I like horse the band but R. Borlax was a sub-par release

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 7:04 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    i assumed they were good because they did a split with HORSE the band... how wrong i apparently was.. this score is for HORSE the band and "nintendocore"

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 7:02 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    so i guess everyone just read the first paragraph?...

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 6:25 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    "And for the record, the Blood Brothers are awesome."

    I'll 2nd that.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 3:39 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    yeeeeah you are way off on this review, its good metalcore for once and what do you do?? knock them for having the word bleeding in their name......

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 2:38 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    And the blood brothers fucking own. They dont count into your little stigma either.

    -!GreenVandal!

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 2:37 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Blood for blood is not terrible. Incredibly stupid, yes, but not bad. Do not say things like that.

    -!GreenVandal!

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 12:05 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    blood for blood is not metalcore

    Posted by Anchors on 2005-02-01 03:05:07
    My Score:

    1) The 1859/1861 thing was a typo, I was doing some research on how Bleeding Kansas related to the civil war, and mixed up some dates.

    2) I didn't say Blood For Blood is metalcore, you're reading incorrectly.

    3) If you want mean, Jesse, you'll be a fan of the review I'll be writing for Maroon's 'Endorsed By Hate.' If you'd like a preview, just let it be known they cite Hatebreed as a major influence. Good God.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 1:30 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    the civil war started in 1861, "bleeding kansas" actually happenned before the war begun, abolitionitsts and pro-slavery people were fighting during the late 1850's trying to make kansas their own persuasion. hint: 1859 is the title of the album isn't it? damn.

    come on now, all you need to do is watch a little history channel.

    Posted by Archangel on 2005-02-01 01:12:08
    My Score:

    Good review... I'll stay away.

    And for the record, the Blood Brothers are awesome.

    Posted by recordings on 2005-02-01 00:57:03
    My Score:

    since when is blood for blood metalcore?

    Posted by Jesse on 2005-02-01 00:52:41
    My Score:

    Not mean enough. You could have been meaner.

    Posted by joeg on 2005-02-01 00:37:45
    My Score:

    Don't forget Blood Brothers!

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