Both sides of the Atlantic now seem well aware of the presence of the unforgivingly heavy group and for good reason. However, the question remains, have the Florida-based quartet managed to do justice to their growth as a band with their most recent creation Bleed-Abide? A thirteen track product is the result of a two year wait since their last full album. Plenty of singles have been dropped by the band since their 2020 effort This Heavy Void, but in a genre so susceptible to a lack of originality Bodysnatcher have managed to give each track the ability to stand on its own.
The expanding mass of sound from intro track ‘Bleed’ explodes into the first full song of the album ‘Abide’. There is absolutely no wait for the intensity to take over, nu-deathcore style riffage and breakdowns are thrown upon the recipient without hesitation. Further listening takes the audience to ‘Smashed Perception’ which ends in the absolutely spectacular fashion of a nearly 40-second long beatdown. Get your fists at the ready to deal some damage in the pits to this monster of a track.
‘Glass Prison’ sits halfway through this release and is arguably Bodysnatcher at their best. Seasoned and experienced deathcore with just enough additional slam to keep you pulling *that* stinky breakdown face. Listeners who enjoy deathcore for the ignorantly hard-hitting elements will find that this middle stretch of songs crown the album. This track is followed up by ‘Value Through Suffering’ which does its part to ensure that the classic Bodysnatcher pre-beatdown insult line is delivered by vocalist Kyle Medina.
The album does peak at the middle stages, with the closing tracks delivering the staple features of deathcore but not offering the standout aspects which were so generously scattered throughout the album so far. That said, for a thirteen-song experience it isn’t a ride which you’ll get bored of anytime soon, an extremely gratifying thought in a world of increasingly smaller-length albums.
Bodysnatcher have managed to create a living, breathing embodiment of the pure anger that defines them as a band. Bleed-Abide gives no respite in its delivery of all that makes deathcore so addictively brutal, proving once again that the horsemen of this ever-popular genre will continue to ride to new heights. A crushing album the band can consider their most mature and consistent work to date.