North Yorkshire’s very own Blood Youth are back with purpose. Their debut album ‘Beyond Repair’ is hard-hitting, rhythmic and emotional from beginning to end. After feeling frustrated with the lack of stability for the future of their generation, they formed in 2014 to channel and express their concerns about life into music. Their previous releases ‘Inside My Head’ (2015) and ‘Closure’ (2015) were gut-punching and anger ridden monstrosities and they are not holding back in ‘Beyond Repair’, either.
The album starts off with ‘Making Waves’ which begins with a low-fi fade-in before punching into pure chaos. Chris Pritchard keeps us entertained with incredibly varied, rhythmic guitar parts, which fit perfectly against Sam Hallett’s cymbal heavy drums and Kaya Tarsus’ roaring vocals.
Tarsus’ vocals are varied throughout the whole album; his screaming vocals portray extreme exasperation, frustration and despair which is impressively demonstrated in ‘What I’m Running From’ with his ability to switch between screaming and singing. Tarsus hits all the right notes and has a great tone and is distinct from other singers in the metal scene – his screaming is much more recognisable and exclusive.
‘Pulling Teeth’ is a track full of filthy, heavy, almost pacing guitar rhythms and vocals which unavoidably forces the listener to feel the surging pulse. The best part of the track is the introduction, which is purely down to Pritchard’s use of rhythm to create tension leading up to the vocals. The use of the same rhythm guitar throughout the track which syncopates with the vocals is a clever re-use of material to create layers.
Blood Youth’s extreme passion is evident across ‘Beyond Repair’, which makes for a great record from a band who like to scream their opinions (quite literally) from the rooftops.
EMMA GREVESON