Artist: Trigger The Bloodshed
Label: Rising Records
Release: 2010
Length: 36:02
Rating: 4.8/5
The devastating impact of the third record from the British standard-bearers of technically refined musical brutality proves for the third year running that Trigger The Bloodshed really are one of the key axes of European extreme music. Degenerate is fresh proof of outstanding quality and creative firepower. Three years, three records. Trigger The Bloodshed, conceived four years ago in the British city of Bath, are a straight-up wrecking ball from the island. Praised by the press and their loyal fans alike, they’ve torn up stages alongside the likes of Suffocation, Meshuggah, Cannibal Corpse and Dying Fetus. They’ve gone from worshipping the veterans to actively learning from them and applying what they saw to their own thing. Used to the company of heavyweight legends, the guys soaked up that air of greatness themselves. With a grinder’s work ethic they shuttle from studio to tour and back without a breather, and after Purgation from 2008 and the record The Great Depression from last year, they push the limits of their abilities even further with a sonic threat going by the name of Degenerate.
One listen and it’s clear that brutality is more than a buzzword this time: a demonic racket pours out of the speakers, and from the very first drum hit, through the guttural vocals of the frighteningly phenomenal Jonny Burgan and the screaming guitar solos, it lays the foundations of a new faith in these exceptional young guns, in a steady groove of pure satisfaction. Degenerate is a precise, technically polished piece of work, but with the melody buried under thick, heavy layers of dissonance. Unlike many deathcore clones, Trigger The Bloodshed don’t fall back on routine and clichés, and your attention is guaranteed to stay cemented to every moment of this musical collage from the dungeons of suffering. Suffering can be a pleasure too, so you’ll happily give in to its charms, sadomasochistically, helped along by the superb production, which reminds you of the very arguments for why death metal survived three decades and became, in its palette of extremes, the most evolutionarily advanced branch of metal.
Degenerate is a ripe missile of raw, primal energy that leaves nothing to sheer chance. Trigger The Bloodshed are relentless and any resistance is pointless. Take a breath and hit the repeat button, which makes the parable of total disconnect that much better. Degenerate undoubtedly deserves a special spot on the shelf in the temple of worship for the exceptional. The record goes down like butter spread on bread. Unbelievers who survived in the front rows? Just a handful, and even they are badly wounded. The chain reaction has been triggered. First blood has been spilled. Mission of brutal persuasion successfully accomplished. Then again, don’t fall for it too easily, because every pair of ears still has its own taste, right? Better check what’s written here in practice – with your own pair of ears, because your own experience is worth more than a thousand words …
The review was written in collaboration between Rock Hard Slovenija and RockLine.
Lineup
Jonny Burgan – Vocals
Rob Purnell – lead guitar
Martyn Evans –rhythm guitar
Dave Purnell – bass
Daniel Wilding – drums
Production
Trigger The Bloodshed & Mark Doghorn
Tracklist
1. A Vision Showing Nothing
2. De-Breed
3. Hollow Prophecy
4. Dead Vein
5. Dethrone
6. A Sterile Existence
7. The Soulful Dead
8. Until Kingdom Come
9. Whited Sepulcher (Bonus Track)
