Doomriders, a four piece from Boston, Massachusetts, share members with Converge and Old Man Gloom and make it clear that they know their way around musical instruments. Their second album, Darkness Comes Alive, sounded like a dumbed down version of Converge with doom vocals, but with innovative originality and spirit. But their third release on Deathwish, Grand Blood, puts the potential of novelty in the past and fails to progress.
A chaotic intro track slides into the first song, "New Pyramids," which leaves much to be desired. It follows a path towards some totally exciting explosion and instead farts out dust. The first song on an album can often make an impression on the listener for the rest of the album, so it's important to have a good opener. "New Pyramids" just doesn't do it. The next song, "Mankind" brings a little more hope with its melodic riffage and charm, sounding similar to "Come Alive" off Darkness Comes Alive. But ultimately, it fails to reach full potential due to boring passages that gobble up the cooler repeating harmonies.
What I did notice that was different about this album, compared to their last, is that this sounds more like a hardcore punk album than a metal album. But the sound is more polished than their previous albums, especially Black Thunder, which makes Grand Blood seem kind of stiff. Their music is based on hardcore in some way or another and the new sound makes sense, but it also detracts from their previous, gripping rock and roll sound hooks. The heavy metal mixed with a rock and roll edge gave them a powerful sound, but it's all lessened on Grand Blood by odd, less exciting music.
There are definitely some redeeming moments throughout the album, such as on "We Live In Shadows," the low, guttural vocals, pounding drums, and howling guitars bring life and breath to the album, if only for a short time. "Gone to Hell" starts with some interestingly different vocals, more of singing rather than screaming. It sounds way more like a rock song than anything else, and it's really good. It's also a track that sounds a little lost on this album, but by splitting up some songs into a hardcore style and some into a rock and roll style, they have at least evolved in some way. I'm a sucker for evolution in bands, and I will applaud them for their efforts, but the album could have used a little more work. Grand Blood stands to be a little less grand a little more generic than expected.
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