There’s an old saying; if at first you don’t succeed…you’re not Chuck Norris…but, all jokes aside, the idea is that if you want to become good at something or, achieve something, you’re going to need to practice. There are steps to take and it doesn’t matter who or where you are in the world, everyone starts at the bottom. For bands this can be incredibly testing; some get a lucky break with a hit single or grab the right attention through consistent local gigs (word of mouth is still a powerful thing!), some take years to get recognised and some just fizzle out before ever getting noticed, because this way of life is so competitive and demanding, not everyone can do it. If you’ve got the passion and the desire however, time is merely an obstacle…and BLIND DIVIDE make this point brilliantly. The heavy metal outfit (consisting of vocalist James Birkett, guitarists Adam Duffield and James Ponsford, bassist Dellan McCabe and drummer Anthony Ellis) formed in Cardiff back in 2007 and, over the past ten years, they’ve been in and out of the local scene, releasing low-fi home demos and generally finding their feet, finding where they belong in the world and finally, now in 2017, we find them releasing their official debut self-titled EP. Shall we follow blindly or shall opinions be divided? Let’s find out…
We open up with “Heaven’s Gallows” and good god they don’t waste any time whatsoever! We’re greeted with pummeling ferocity within nanoseconds! The riffs and percussion are intense and unrelenting, while James’ vocals are nothing short of brutal…the sheer unforgiving onslaught showing the band are done with waiting, this is a statement of intent, this is Blind Divide and you will pay attention…a blistering start this. The same too can be said for “Scourge Of Humanity”; the sinister tone of the guitar work coupled with certain thrash-metal elements entwined within the texture of the track allowing for a rich listening experience, the influence of bands such as LAMB OF GOD can be heard here too, providing a solid groove, which can also be said for EP highlight “Pathfinder”…its very “The Sacrament” era and despite it’s obvious heaviness there’s more melody and an overall smoothness to proceedings here; it’s very well balanced but loses absolutely nothing in terms of its lack of forgiveness.
If there are any faults here at all however, it would have to be “Source” and even then they’re minor…with a track under three minutes long, you’d expect them to really hammer home the aggression and take no prisoners with a really intense thrash-inspired piece, something pacey; something hungry…but instead the track feels longer than its run time. There are stripped down segments that make the track feel drawn out unnecessarily and it loses some of its bite as a result. However, in the grand scheme of things, Blind Divide have finally delivered and this can easily make a huge impact on the Welsh underground metal scene…with the likes of CHAOS TRIGGER growing and growing and events such as Eradication and Celtic Mosh both highlighting and championing artists such as this then going forward, they have all the promise in the world to make a name for themselves…uninitiated? Allow the blind to lead the blind…[7]
We open up with “Heaven’s Gallows” and good god they don’t waste any time whatsoever! We’re greeted with pummeling ferocity within nanoseconds! The riffs and percussion are intense and unrelenting, while James’ vocals are nothing short of brutal…the sheer unforgiving onslaught showing the band are done with waiting, this is a statement of intent, this is Blind Divide and you will pay attention…a blistering start this. The same too can be said for “Scourge Of Humanity”; the sinister tone of the guitar work coupled with certain thrash-metal elements entwined within the texture of the track allowing for a rich listening experience, the influence of bands such as LAMB OF GOD can be heard here too, providing a solid groove, which can also be said for EP highlight “Pathfinder”…its very “The Sacrament” era and despite it’s obvious heaviness there’s more melody and an overall smoothness to proceedings here; it’s very well balanced but loses absolutely nothing in terms of its lack of forgiveness.
If there are any faults here at all however, it would have to be “Source” and even then they’re minor…with a track under three minutes long, you’d expect them to really hammer home the aggression and take no prisoners with a really intense thrash-inspired piece, something pacey; something hungry…but instead the track feels longer than its run time. There are stripped down segments that make the track feel drawn out unnecessarily and it loses some of its bite as a result. However, in the grand scheme of things, Blind Divide have finally delivered and this can easily make a huge impact on the Welsh underground metal scene…with the likes of CHAOS TRIGGER growing and growing and events such as Eradication and Celtic Mosh both highlighting and championing artists such as this then going forward, they have all the promise in the world to make a name for themselves…uninitiated? Allow the blind to lead the blind…[7]
RSS Feed