The Blood Brothers have released three total releases in their short career and this is their fourth release. “Crimes” has better production and a better overall sound than the previous records but they keep their great style evident in the album. The band has so much aggression and just completely rock out in every song.

“Feed Me To The Forrest” is the opening track on the record. The song starts off with a slow temp, but this band has proven in the past to be masters with tempo and they rip out after about a minute in the song. The different instruments used in the album really add another element to the music and keep the band original. “Trash Flavored Trash” comes in so fast, it doesn’t sound as if the previous track ended. This song showcases the three way vocals of Johnny Whitney, Jordan Billie, and backups by Morgan Henderson. “Love Rhymes With A Hideous Car Wreck” is the third track on the record. This is probably one of the most creative songs on the album. This one is a personal favorite. The vocals are completely insane in this song, the song has a slower tempo than most of the other songs the band has ever wrote. Mark Galadhar’s percussion in this tune is very impressive, has more of a progressive-rock feel to it. The fifth track on the album, “Teen Heat” is very up-beat, fast and aggressive. This song sounds a lot more like their previous work and is a great addition to the album. “Rats And Rats And Rats For Candy” is the sixth track on the album. This song sounds like a mixture of The Hives and My Chemical Romance. A very good track that is fueled by the catchy, strong guitar playing by Cody Votolato. This song has some really cool sounds, very original style that has influences from a progressive rock style.

The second half of the album begins with the title track “Crimes.” This song begins much slower than most tracks, has an eere feeling and just keeps the listener waiting impatiently for the music to explode like a melodic bomb. Even though the songs speeds up a bit, the song varies from the previous tracks. It doesn’t get blistering fast, but fast enough to keep it interesting. The dual vocals are a highlight, less screaming and a lighter sound. The high pitched vocals and the lower pitched vocals really contrast each other very well. The next track on the record is “My First Kiss At A Public Execution.” This song sounds like it had came out of a horror flick, moving the tempo much faster and harder than the previous track. The listener may be scared of the track from the beginning but the verse sounds more like The Addams Family, in which you are a little scared but a little relaxed. A great track to proceed after the previous listen. “Live At The Apocalypse Cabaret” follows, and slows the pace down a bit. Vocals as always, keep this song interesting. Every song including this track has a different feel to it, the band seemed to really get into the creative process when making this record. An abundance of instruments help develop this track. “Beautiful Horses” is the next track and is a great listen, one of the best on the album. This song sounds like a beautiful car wreck. It’s hard, a lot of screaming and just great use of instruments especially when the bass comes in a minute in to the song and speeds it up a bit. This song is short but unrelenting. The twelfth track is “Celebrator.” This song has a pop-rock feel to it to start out, and gets into the band’s known sound. A solid track from the group. The last track on the album is “Devastator.” The song begins with a creative, out of control intro with just singing and backup vocals. When the drums hit, the rest of the band jumps in and completely rips out to end the album the way that they no best. That is aggressive and hard, with tempo changes everywhere.

The Blood Brothers are really one of the most talented groups in the indie scene these days. Their mix of prog-rock, pop-rock, emo and hardcore keeps them at the top of my 2004 list for the year. This release is fun to listen to and also just a great overall album. Every member of the group has at least four or five different instruments that they contributed in the album. This album is great and is highly recommended. Along with the album being great, the artwork is very creative also. It looks like the Gatsby’s American Dream Booklet, same type of art. Shows the band seems to care about every aspect of the album rather than just the music.

The album is for fans of a mix of Mars Volta, My Chemical Romance, Gatsby's American Dream and The Kinison. If you are a fan of any of these groups, check The Blood Brothers out because they are right up your alley. And if you aren’t familiar or fans of the above groups, give this band a chance they deserves it with this great release. Their older releases are very good also, so get the whole set.

Rating - A+ (9.8)

Significant Tracks- “Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck”, “Beautiful Horses”, “Crimes”, “Live At The Apocalypse Cabaret”

Keith Joseph

www.thebloodbrothers.com
www.v2music.com