I recently had the privilege of filling in on drums for First Blood for the past five weeks. Getting to play with one of the bands who inspired and influenced me is a rare luxury. It's even rarer for me to find bands at this juncture that excite me enough to warrant wanting to go grind it out in shitty venues and sleep on wooden floors all across the deep south and midwest.
While most of the shows were good overall, there was a pretty obvious disconnect between most of the kids we were playing to and the newer material we were performing (from the album Silence Is Betrayal). Considering I've been a fan since the day the demo was released, I feel like my opinion holds merit when I say that the newer First Blood material is by far their strongest, most relevant and focused material they've ever written. There's only one thing that's a shame ... not many people have been having the opportunity to hear it.
The album was "released" on the fledgling Bullet Tooth Records which formulated as a result of the dissolution of the former hardcore powerhouse, Trustkill Records. Unfortunately for First Blood, the motivation and dedication that drove Trustkill Records to the forefront of the hardcore scene in the late 90s and early 2000s is no longer prevalent in the new label endeavor. The new album, Silence Is Betrayal, has essentially been buried. The band wasn't even able to obtain copies of the album for the headlining, full US tour in support of it.
That being said, despite the album still being "in press" ... I'm putting this album up for download. Carl has been quoted as saying that the album should be heard by any means necessary ... and if the label isn't making this a possibility for the band to distribute the album ... well then, I'm taking it upon myself to post the album for the world to hear.
While this is by no means a substitute for the full album liner notes (which are quite amazing, by the way) .. .at the very least I am hoping it will allow the band to have at least somewhat of a better reaction to the songs when they're being played out on the road. It's a shame to see someone put so much effort into the creation of an album only to have it buried for political reasons (higher profit margins on iTunes purchases as opposed to physical copies).
Do your best to track this album down and just remember ... my opinions are my own and do not reflect that of the band. Fuck off.
DOWNLOAD
