Inked in Blood - Lay Waste the Poets

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Forest: Sold Out
Jul 5, 2003
5,154
13
38
40
Indiana
Inked in Blood – Lay Waste the Poets
Facedown Records – FR048 – November 8th, 2005
By Jason Jordan

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As a writer involved in my local literary scene, I can totally identify with the title of Inked in Blood’s debut. I know quite a few poets, and there are some I’d like to lay waste to. But that’s besides the point. So what is the point? The point is that Lay Waste the Poets is a tasty, hardcore album for those who are open to an uplifting form of this particular style of music. While they’re mostly laidback, this five-piece are what Beloved (US) would sound like if they were hardcore, and both attributes please me more than the average person I bet.

Needless to say, these guys will be compared with labelmates such as Nodes of Ranvier, but it seems like Inked in Blood were at ease during the recording sessions. Quite a portion of Lay Waste the Poets wades at a mid-tempo pace or slower, though they aren’t wary of speeding up occasionally. And it wouldn’t be hardcore without the shouts, choir-esque bellowing, and punchy rhythms – the melodies and pop sensibilities, though, remind me of just about any band currently lounging in the Solid State Records’s office. Finding the group at the top of their game isn’t an arduous task, as “These Sonnettes of Our Lives” does the work for you by being so affable with its screamo-like choruses and intermittent clean vocals. “Frame Thy Fearful Symmetry” is not to be missed either, cause it’s an enticing instrumental that provides respite from abrasive hardcore. Still, “Kiss the Lips of Your Betrayer” finds Inked in Blood back at the grindstone, harnessing semi-colossal riffage and tossing around tempo shifts now and again.

Since Lay Waste the Poets carries a fresh sound during its forty-five minute stint, I’d recommend giving this a listen if you fancy hardcore intermingled with a contemporary vibe. Beloved (US) (R.I.P.) followers should at least bestow a shot on Inked in Blood due to the opinion that the latter often parallel the former. At any rate, this is a credible release that doesn’t match up to the standards of a select few of the other LP’s put out by Facedown Records, but is nevertheless satisfying in its own right.

7.5/10

Official Inked in Blood Website
Official Facedown Records Website