Dallas' Bleed is undoubtedly the odd one out on death and doom metal haven 20 Buck Spin. The Pennsylvania-based label has made waves over the past decade by releasing some of the most bone-crushing and audibly fucked-up underground metal records around. A few years back, though, bands like Savage Necromancy and Witch Vomit made room for a fresh new addition—fronted by guitarist/vocalist Ryan Hughes (formerly of Narrow Head)—that leans into straightforward, bounce-riff-based melodic hard rock. Fans of Deftones, Linkin Park, Failure, Hum, Nothingface, and especially Trustcompany will feel right at home.
Their acclaimed Somebody’s Closer EP is a textbook case of finding the right balance between tension and atmosphere. A quick glance at the record’s Bandcamp page reveals that it’s even served as a gateway for listeners getting into modern shoegaze. A year later, Bleed kept things spicy with the release of “Killing Time,” a single that wouldn’t sound out of place on one of those early 2000s Need for Speed soundtracks.
I’ll admit, I was a little worried when this incredible run was followed by roughly two and a half years of radio silence. Imagine the dumb, goofy smile on my face when I saw the artwork for Bleed’s newly announced debut album. The cover, a striking photo shot by Frank Maddocks, instantly pulled me in. Maddocks also handled the art direction for Somebody’s Closer, which, for a while, served as my screensaver.
Bleed is exactly what I expected from this band—and that’s a good thing. It builds on the formula of their debut EP but adds a sharper edge and a little experimentation. It’s the same sound we heard in 2021, just bigger and better. And if their flirtation with nu metal didn’t already convince you, then the motherfucking turntables on album opener “Climbing Down” should. These Dallas boys have written more than one love letter to the genre.
Album highlights like “Through the Cylinder” (with that “Eyeless”-esque intro) and “Cynical” grab you by the neck and shove your head through the wall—while still maintaining a tight, undeniable groove. “Enjoy Your Stay” (featuring nu-gaze contemporaries Static Dress) may just have the catchiest song structure on the whole album. It’s a track that makes you want to headbang just as much as gaze into the abyss. And honestly, the album is full of these moments. At this point, it feels inevitable that Bleed will share some studio time with Fleshwater too, don’t you think?
“Shallow,” the second-to-last track, is a bit of an outlier thanks to its stripped-down, laid-back vibe. It instantly brings Filter’s “Take a Picture” to mind. It’s like the little brother to that song, though it's very unlikely to reach the same level of popularity.
With the resurgence of the Deftones-style sound, I sincerely hope Bleed and their peers can make even more noise in the coming years. These are hardworking musicians navigating the swamp of industry uncertainty. But hey—what’s old is new again, and with bands like Bleed leading the charge, maybe it’s even better now.
