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TRUTH CORRODED
Bloodlands
Unique Leader Records

Where would we be without the addictive nature of crossover bands? Bands the successfully take a genre or 2 and mesh it into a barrage of excellence. Many bands today try and fall short, never really gaining an identity while trying to market themselves to a variety of listeners. Without limiting your capability as a band, you have to narrow your ideal fan-base. My point is that when you focus and put your all into it, you get a pulverizing brutal audio beatdown such as the case with Australia’s own TRUTH CORRODED and their latest release, their sixth full-length and debut through Unique Leader Records, BLOODLANDS.

And a strong debut at that it is, HOLY F*CK is this a pummeling album! With an enormous introduction with "The Carnal Earth" and help from SUFFOCATION’s Terrance Hobbs, they rip right through your gut. Followed then by the track "The Leeches Feed" breaks your neck with intensity thanks to additional help from Ryan Knight (ex-BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, ex-ARSIS). Track by track, the aggression is thick with blast beats, melodic and grinding guitar work and traumatizing vocals by Jason North. Returning for his third go around with the group is sick drummer extraordinaire Kevin Talley, who has been an active member since WORSHIP THE BLED (2011, Ultimhate Records) and continues to help raise the levels of this RADalaide group. With added writing duties by newest member Trent Simpson, the groups is rounded out with their other longest standing member, Greg Shaw on Bass. Just to add a bit of haunt to it, when you hear "The Storm", the added female vocals by Bec Pengelley blackens the mood (in a very good way) to a level that still rumbles your soul. Also making a guest appearance is MISERY INDEX shredder Mark Kloeppel on the tracks "Of Open Eyes" and "Willing Hands". It goes without saying, the chosen talent who participated on this ripper are no slouches. By no means do these guys needs any kind of mainstream push, so for the mainstream rock and metal listeners who wouldn’t have given this record a second thought, it’s worth noting that some guy named Steph Carpenter from a band called DEFTONES (note the sarcasm) also appears and performs on the final, mellowest and longest track at 10 minutes, "I Once Breathed", with the return of Pengelley’s haunting vocals.

This is the epitome of a brutal album with Hardcore, Death Grind elements and a hint of Metalcore, little enough so as not to bore down the album but enough to entice the mainstreamers who might gravitate to the heavier side of the spectrum of Metal and be exposed to this outstanding effort by this Australian Death Thrash group.

Lyrically Laced with socio-political themes, it sheds light on the ongoing conflicts in our world today. It’s what many great albums are made of. Awareness and letting the listener know the world isn’t full of rainbow-shitting unicorns. Song titles include "The End of He Who Reigns", "Conquest of Divide", "Victims Left Lepers" – all carry heavy messages. There are some powerful lyrics here on BLOODLANDS. “Spill The Blood on the Ashes of the Innocent” is one that stood out to me. This album stands along the top releases of the year only reemphasizing how structurally heavy Unique Leader Records’ roster is and a solid label debut by the guys from “Down Under”.

4.5 Out Of 5.0