Blood Red Water – All The Ills Of Mankind

Blood Red Water – All The Ills Of Mankind

Self released – 2013

Rock, Sludge, Doom, Metal

Rated: ****

After releasing a damn fine first EP called Tales of Addiction and Despair in 2012 as a foursome the Venice, Italy Blood Red Water returns with a fifth member and with an even grittier album this year. For All The Ills Of Mankind sounds crunchy, crusted and completely cranked up. Moody doomed sludge pounds and pulverizes your bones while the cymbals crash around your ears shattering what might be left of your hearing. And with an ever-present underlying undercurrent of hysteria the five tracks have this charcoal aggression and pitiful groove that sets the perfect emotive tone for a creepy trip through your toxic mind. Muddy, manic and sinister the mid-tempo and slow paced tunes move relentlessly forward and ever so often some speed or core comes into play; just so the furnace becomes even hotter.  And all this with a brutal intensity that has their riffs pumice your filthy soul and the sandpaper vocals grate your skin until it starts to bleed… And has the water turned to red…

(Written by JK)

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Blood Red Water – Tales of Addiction and Despair

Blood Red Water – Tales of Addiction and Despair
Self released – 2011
Stoner, Doom, Sludge
Rated: ***

In a few weeks I will leave for Milan to test the heavy rock waters there so it seems only fitting to already use my feelers to search lovely Italy for some inspired rock. Hailing from Venice, Blood Red Water, was formed in the summer of 2010 and consists of four freaks that earned their spurs in loads of other bands. Since they all shared a love for bands like EyeHateGod, Electric Wizard and St.Vitus it was only right to enter the water in that area. But soon they drifted along and floated wherever the current might take them. Their gritty variation of sludge and doom is filled with an energetic garage and hardcore feel and convinces just as easily during the slow moments as during the faster stoner related songs. It has that epic atmosphere but unfortunately never becomes that great adventure we long for. This might be due to the less attractive grunts and the wavering clean vocals; although the apparent but mostly unused ability does shine through on some moments. Luckily we have the strings and rhythm sections that are menacing enough to pull you under water like some undead swamp monster and make you bleed…

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