Blood Youth
Inside My Head EP
(Rude Records/Artery Records)
Blood Youth will forever be linked to short-lived group Climates, as Blood Youth contains basically the whole band with a different singer. That’s a problematic proposition because Climates offered up a fantastic style of melodic hardcore, even if they weren’t around long enough to make a splash on the freer US shores. Comparisons aren’t all that important, especially because one listen to Inside My Head will assuage any wary listener. Blood Youth’s sound finds a wonderful middle ground between While She Sleeps, Counterparts, and The Story So Far, which is to say that the riffs hit hard, the emotions are certainly emotive, and the hooks are sharp and bloody. I haven’t heard a hardcore debut this well-crafted and exciting in years. Blood Youth understands how to perfectly balance the different elements to create a cohesive whole. Too often when pop and hardcore meet up, the results feel uneven. Not so for Blood Youth, who is all bite and all bark.
In many ways, Blood Youth sounds a lot like what Counterparts has tried to sound like through its career. That’s not a diss on the Canadian band, but Blood Youth has more spunk and more melody. It’s really a sound that is everything one could want from melodic hardcore. Unlike other iterations of the idea (a la A Day to Remember), this isn’t poppy punk with odd breakdowns; this is hardcore with both the melody and heavy levels turned up to 11. Those looking for the next big thing in melodic hardcore should look no further. (Nicholas Senior)
Purchase Inside My Head EP here: iTunes | Physical
