Bonded By Blood – The Aftermath
Release Date: July 2, 2012
Highlights: I Can’t Hear You, Shepherds of Rot, The Aftermath, Crawling in the Shadows, Among the Vultures, Left Behind
When a band loses a key element of their band, such as the lead singer and even the founding guitarist, it could be damn near detrimental and cause a band to pack it in. Well, LA based thrashers Bonded By Blood weren’t bound to let that be an option. Instead of folding after the departure of singer Jose Baralles and guitarist Alex Lee, Bonded by Blood dusted themselves off, gnashed their teeth and hit the road with a vengeance and a new line up consisting of Jessie Sanchez on bass and vocalist Mauro Gonzalez. After a very successful and critically acclaimed tour, Bonded By Blood entered the studio and applied the energy and determination which resulted in The Aftermath.
The Aftermath is juggernaut of classic metal that completely exceeded all of my expectations and totally melted my face off. “I Can’t Hear You” opens the album with a total blow to the dome of classic inspired bay area style thrash metal and sets the pace of what lies ahead. “Shepherds of Rot” was probably the most stand out track for me that really proved Gonzalez to be the right guy for the gig. Gonzalez embodies everything that is the classic thrash metal vocalist as he channels the vocalists of old such as Paul Baloff, Joey Belladonna and Steve Souza. In most cases, switching singers can be the end of a band but with Gonzalez, Bonded By Blood cashed in for an upgrade as he really takes the band to a whole new level of awesomeness.
Chock full of facemelting guitar riffage, Cliff Burton inspired bass playing, and more tempo changes than you can shake a severed arm at, The Aftermath is an album that any fan of classic thrash could and should be able to connect with. Bonded By Blood has that hunger and that passion that reminds me just why I feel in love with trash metal 20+ years ago. The Aftermath is a must have for any connoisseur of thrash metal who both appreciates and remembers just how it used to be done. Bonded By Blood just proves that it thrash can still be done and done really well.
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