Spirals

AMG Review of Spirals

Kurt Morris
All Music Guide

Fourteen songs are released for the masses on Spirals, the third full-length from New England's Blood Has Been Shed. Frontman Howard Jones displays a full range of vocal talent, going from lowdown guttural bellows to almost singing on occasion. The guitars are all over the place, with a jagged, aggravated sound that plays around with off-timing and an occasional Meshuggah-influenced tone. The drum work also features some fine blastbeat work that also bears the mark of Meshuggah. Most of the album is a fine display of metal-core, and there are a few tracks of ambient sound, making for an occasional respite amid all the brutality. Still, some more diversity within the loud end of the spectrum would have been a welcome change.