A five-piece heavy hitting powerhouse from Miami, Florida, Thick As Blood is a relatively new member of the Rise Records family. While they may be new to the label, they are veterans to the genre. Since 2004, Thick as Blood has two releases under their belt and Living Proof will be their third.
Right from the start, Living Proof has an onslaught of brutal riffs, crushing breakdowns, and hateful vocals. The music itself sounds very much like Lionheart and Terror. The guitar is sure to get you moving and pumped up with all of the chugging. Dark riffs mixed with a little melody in spots really gives the music accent. The drum work is heavy but at times it is barely audible over the deafening guitar and vocals, but when it is heard it sounds good.
The vocals alone are enough to knock you right out of your seat but combined with the music, it cracks the ground beneath you. The vocals sound angry and out of control but they do get the message across that the vocalist is about to destroy anybody in his way. On songs such as “Unruly”, the vocalist speeds it up and it really sounds great.
Although Thick As Blood really knows how to make a breakdown, they use them too often. It seems as though half of Living Proof was just chugging where there really shouldn’t be. As stated previously, the drumming is barely heard at some parts in the album and the guitar is way too loud at other times. Putting these flaws aside, Living Proof is a great hardcore release that is worth a couple of listens. Some songs I would suggest are “Full Measure” and “Unruly”. Be sure to give this a listen if you enjoy beatdown hardcore.
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