Blood For Blood Serenity

With all that's been happening in "hardcore" in the last few years, a new Blood For Blood release was one of the most welcome listens in recent memory. They've always sort of been the hardcore equivalent of NWA, keeping it 'realer' than anyone else and actually being tough guys who play so-called tough-guy hardcore. This release, the band's first for Thorp Records, comes within a month of the re-issue of their classic first album Spit My Last Breath and serves to illuminate their growth musically and as people. On Serenity, "White Trash" Rob Lind and company explore territory that Lind and his brother Mark (of Ducky Boys' fame) journeyed into with their highly under-rated Sinners and Saints project. Themes of sadness, regret and loss are underscored here by the sort of informed hopefulness that understands life's ups and downs without giving in to them. After the spoken intro and the interlude of the thirty-second title track, the disc gets into gear on "Hangin' On The Corner," dedicated to their home town of Charlestown. It's almost shocking to hear the repeated shouts of "We Care!" throughout the song, but that sentiment repeats multiple times on this record. Each song plays like an address to a different group of oppressed and despondent people, with the ultimate message being that there is, in fact, someone who cares and that someone appears to be Blood For Blood. This disc is among the most focused musical work the band has done in their nine year career. Obviously, this is a Blood For Blood record so one shouldn't necessarily expect to hear startling innovation, but they do manage to incorporate a few new tricks here and there that keep the disc going, most notably a reggae backbeat on "Live The Lie" that somehow ends up sounding a bit like something Pantera might have done. The disc's only major flaw comes in the form of a cover of Del Shannon's "Runaway," which comes off as silly in the context of some of the band's most serious and mature work. While this is an EP and thus consists of only around sixteen minutes of music, BFB and the guys at Thorp Records have put together a beautiful package that includes extensive videos chronicling the band's history as well as the making of the record. Also included are some amusing anecdotes and outtakes that remind the fans that despite their apparent growth, Blood For Blood hasn't suddenly started taking themselves TOO seriously. The photo gallery is also a nice touch for fans of live hardcore photos. Bottom Line: Rob Lind once described Blood For Blood as the "enemy of all you hold dear" and while that certainly hasn't changed, they have also grown to embody the day-to-day struggles of life that so many people face. This EP is yet another mark on the band's near-flawless record of great hardcore. The lyrical themes of Serenity are drawn from The Serenity Prayer, most often associated with Alcoholics Anonymous. If this record is Lind's first step in a new twelve-step program, I can't wait to hear steps two through twelve.