EP REVIEW THE BLUEPRINT
1. MINUS 10 Available from 21st Oct, 2002.
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The Blueprint are a project that features Karl Middleton (ex-earthtone9), Mark Clayden (PSI), Matt Grundy (ex-PSI), Chris Billam and Will Burchell (both Consumed). They produce a heady mix of hard-edged rock that blends the considerable experience of the collective very well indeed and has maturity that smacks you in the face. It is so good to hear Karl Middleton using his talents again. Being a huge fan of his vocals, it's a real pleasure to listen to what he adds to the songs on this EP. Whatever he contributes to always benefits from his rich and extremely characterful voice, which can blend beautiful melodies as easily as shred your eardrums with murderous bellows and he does it all with enormous power. But it's not just about Karl. This band work together very well and have produced a well-balanced set of furiously up-beat songs. The full on show-opener Minus 10 grabs you by the throat and immediately gets your attention with thundering drums and angry shouts. The rather sneakier Consafos begins with a little more refrain but quickly builds and develops to the awesome and infections chorus. A great song for Karl's voice that conjures with majestic melody in his own inimitable style, and really gets the hairs on the back of your neck standing proud. |
With dark electronic interludes at both ends, Anatomy Of A Hero bursts out with such enthusiasm, this time with a more classical approach producing a pleasing piece of hard rock coated in metal. Again stylistic driving guitars flow into melodies that form a shape around the riffs, pulling you into the song. Concluding with Out Of The Black, a song that somehow remains so powerfully melodic, notwithstanding Karl's furious shouting and has definite echo's of emo in a Thursday or Waterdown kind of way. This is an excellent EP and the more you listen to it, the more it entwines into you and the more you appreciate just how good it is. For a master class on how to take melody and make it sound intensely aggressive, checkout The Blueprint. Rigsby (5th October, 2002) |