Review: Raindance – New Blood

After a couple of 7”es, a single and a digital only EP, Raindance is back with New Blood. And once again, they deliver.

Formed in March 2011, this New England based group consists of (ex-)members of Have Heart, Outrage and The Miles Between. You could consider this project a ‘super group’, but more than that, it shows us Raindance is something that should be taken seriously.

This six-track release opens with ‘Bottle Throated Kings’. A song that starts with a very heavy and sludgy riff, which proceeds in the kind of chaotic Metalcore extravanganza we all love a band like Converge for. It is all topped off by the unique and desperate vocals of Sean O’Brien, who goes quite Every Time I Die-ish sometimes. The track ends with a experimental electronic outro, maybe something they got interested in after covering Sleigh Bells earlier this year?

The overall atmosphere on New Blood is very dark, desperate and malicious. Music- but also lyric wise. “Shove your tongue right down my throat, taste the blood from these rusty notes” screams O’Brien in the more straight forward Metalcore track ‘Dine With The Devil’.

‘To Hell With Them’ and ‘Heaven Knows No Hollow Road’ are the most heavy songs on this record, with hard-hitting breakdowns as well as lightning fast parts. Most interesting and intense however, is ‘Bloodlust’. Raindance is at its best here, showing diversity in (clean) vocals, tempo and guitar work, even sounding a bid like Deftones in some parts.

Raindance is here to stay, hopefully with a new full-length in the near future. But for now they released one of the most heavy, intense and dismal records of this year.

New Blood can be pre-ordered on limited vinyl here, check out the tracklist below: