Blood Ties - Into the Dark Decade
by James

Few bands have melded hardcore and metal as purely and honestly as Blood Ties does it. These aren’t metal guys trying to play hardcore or vice versa; they’re just musicians with deep roots in both. This melding helps Blood Ties go a long way towards standing out from a densely populated crowd of bands trying to be two things at once. While their self-titled debut was a hardcore album with touches of metal flair, their second effort, Into The Dark Decade, is neither strictly metal or hardcore. This time around, there truly are equal amounts of both musical styles present, which lends itself to having a much nicer variety of songs. The vocals are unchanged from the Counterintelligence debut, which is neither good nor bad for me. I don’t want to hear Terry trying to sing or otherwise be something that he isn’t, but it would have been nice to hear more variation in the screams and growls. That’s just my personal preference, though, and with every listen, that little thing bothers me less. The fact is, for what Blood Ties is going for, Terry’s vocals are perfect, so wishing for them to change is tantamount to wishing that Blood Ties was a different band, altogether. The facelift they’ve given the music is most refreshing, indeed. Ronnie and Braxton have long been two of my favorite guitarists, so hearing them cut loose together is always a joy. I was also quite pleased that they incorporated more breakdowns into their style, as that was the main thing I felt was missing from the last record. Another welcome change is that song length has increased a little bit, so you get more than just a minute or so with some of the awesome riffs they come up with. All in all, Into The Dark Decade is everything a sophomore album should be. They kept everything that was great about Blood Ties and expanded upon it in every way, resulting in a far more satisfying listening experience. It is an album that has grown on me, quite a bit, in the month or so that I’ve had it, but a lot of great albums take time to truly appreciate them.