Thick as Blood “Living Proof” Album Review
THICK AS BLOOD
Gino – vocals
Randy – guitar
Lenny – guitar
Steve – Bass
Josh –drums
review by Shannah Tighe
@Shannuhxo
THICK AS BLOOD is a very proud hardcore band from Miami, FL. Formed in ‘04; they started out as a seven-man team but recently trimmed down their roster to five, bringing out a more focused sound. They released their debut album “Moment Of Truth” in ’07, toured the states numerous times including Canada sharing stages with the likes of Madball, Terror, Bleeding Through and much more.
Available Now!!
01. Pain & Gain
02. Full Measure
03. Madre Mia
04. The Outsiders
05. Living Proof
06. Diente Por Diente
07. Headaches
08. Unruly
09. No Rest For the Wicked
10. History of Violence (Fearless)
11. Damned Nation
Thick As Blood is back and on a new label. That’s right! TAB signed with Rise Records earlier this year. I was really excited to hear some new material from this band and see if their sound would change now that they have signed to a new label; a label that gets a lot of backlash for having too many similar sounding bands. Well, I think they made the right choice with this one!
Pain & Gain is a short introduction with an attention-grabbing melody, repeating chant vocals and a breakdown. Pain & Gain flows nicely into their next song, Full Measure. In my opinion, this is a super catchy (even though there is no actual singing) song. This song actually reminds me a lot of Hatebreed, not that I mind. The song has a nice format to it, a bit predictable but not bad. I really dig the lyrics in this song because it’s giving a positive message. Pretty much saying that we shouldn’t wait to do something, screw the negativity and do what you can now because you never know when your life may be cut short. This is the longest song on the album, coming in at a whopping 3 minutes and 26 seconds.
Madre Mia is another song that starts out with an attention-grabbing set of melodies with some positive lyrics. I’m assuming it’s about his mother or mother-like figure. I absolutely loved the bass in this song, as it was strong in a section or two. After listening to this album already, this has to be one of my favorite songs, as I can relate to it. All of the songs on this album are roughly the same length – all but one being under 3 minutes.
Next up, The Outsiders. I loved this intro, my favorite being the drums. The lyrics are a bit repetitive in this song but it’s also one of the catchier songs on the album. It leaves us with some more chanting vocals and an abrupt stop.
This next song shares the same name as the album. Living Proof has my favorite intro off of the whole album; intense drumming and guitar riff that builds you up to Gino’s vocals. This album is really cohesive but almost gets too repetitive. I exceptionally love the breakdown in this one. Probably topping off as my favorite song from this album.
Diente Por Diente has a nice flow from Living Proof as well. This song automatically gets into it and wastes no time. (Seeing as how it’s only a little over 2 minutes!) This one is actually all in Spanish. Diente Por Diente is from the Spanish from Ojo por Ojo, Diente Por Diente meaning “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. HOORAY! Spanish lessons during hardcore music!
Headaches also has some badass bass in it. The riffs in this song almost sound a lot like Full Measure’s. But I really enjoy the bit of guitar solo with a hint of drumming about half way through the song. I love the tune of it and how it transitions into the breakdown and I LOVE the quick outro.
Unruly starts out with a very short snippet of a thunderstorm and the band builds up to more of Gino’s vocals. Once again, loving these lyrics in this song. More positive (yet in an aggressive manner) words about sacrificing to get what you want/where you need to be. I’m pretty sure this is going to be one of the more popular songs off of the album with the melody, chanting and repetitive vocals.
No Rest For The Wicked has probably some of my favorite lyrics off of this whole album. This song is probably one of two that stand out the most on this album.
History of Violence is another super short song. It kind of sounds the same as most of the songs on this album, nothing really attention grabbing and definitely reminds me of Hatebreed in this one. I’m assuming this song has the same message as “Diente Por Diente” since this song is about revenge. Refer back to my Spanish lesson to help you out with that one. It ends pretty abruptly as well.
Last song on the album, Damned Nation. It’s about 3 minutes long. I like some of the effects in this song and the vocals are switched up a teensy bit in this.
All in all, this is a REALLY short album. It’s less than a half hour long, and can get pretty repetitive. Also sounds like there is a lot of Hatebreed influence. If that’s what you like, then all the power to you! It’s not a bad album per se; it’s just average in my opinion. I think I enjoy the lyrics the most.
They are currently on tour until late August. Peep the dates below!
Jul 17 Harmony Grange Hall w/ Thick As Blood, Wilmington, DE
Jul 18 Shakas w/ Thick As Blood, Virginia Beach, VA
Jul 19 Gallery 13 w/ Thick As Blood, Columbus, GA
Jul 20 Propaganda w/ Thick As Blood, West Palm Beach, FL
Jul 21 H2O Live w/ Thick As Blood, Orlando, FL
Jul 22 7 Venue w/ Thick As Blood, Douglasville, GA
Jul 24 Tomcats w/ Thick As Blood, Fort Worth, TX
Jul 25 The White Rabbit w/ Thick As Blood, San Antonio, TX
Jul 26 Nikki Rowe VFW w/ Thick as Blood Mcallen, TX
Jul 27 Lips Lounge w/ Thick As Blood, El Paso, TX
Jul 28 Underground w/ Thick As Blood, Tempe, AZ
Jul 29 Chain Reaction w/ Thick As Blood, Anaheim, CA
Aug 10 Fowlers Live w/ Antagonist A.D. Adelaide, Australia
Aug 11 BANG w/ Antagonist A.D. Melbourne, Australia
Aug 12 Phoenix Youth Center w/ Antagonist A.D. Melbourne, Australia
Aug 14 Musicman Megastore w/ Antagonist A.D. Bendigo, Australia
Aug 15 Tuggeranong Youth Center w/ Antagonist A.D. Canberra, Australia
Aug 16 Hot Damn w/ Antagonist A.D. Sydney, Australia
Aug 17 Masonic Hall w/ Antagonist A.D. Blacktown, Australia
Aug 18 Thriller w/ Antagonist A.D. Brisbane, Australia
Aug 19 Eagleby Community Hall w/ Antagonist A.D. Brisbane, Australia
Aug 22 Avenue A Osaka Shi, Japan
Aug 23 Bay Jungle Yokohama, Japan
Aug 24 Antiknock Tokyo, Japan
Aug 25 Bloodaxe Fest Shibuya, Japan
Aug 26 Bloodaxe Fest Nagoya, Japan
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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