Grave Pleasures : "Motherblood"

What once was Beastmilk carries on as Grave Pleasures , this is their sophomore album under this banner. It is more aggressive the sense of melody held in the first returns for "Doomsday Rainbows". Though it still holds onto a tense core. The first song throws it self at you with a much more reckless abandon, so we are hearing more sides from this band. These guys have a very high bar to hurdle consider how much I liked the last album. I need more of the baritone croon we get on the verses of "Be My Hiroshima".  They are much more energetic going into "Joy Through Death" , but prove to be wise in giving the vocals some room to breathe. The bass and drums continue to race with one another with a punk feel on "Mind Intruder". There is more immersive embrace of the kinetic punk energy. Perhaps not as nuanced as the first album , there are moments like on the first song before the chorus where they back off a little, but as a whole this album is more focused on maintain it's momentum and I can imagine would make for a fun live show.

It took me a second listen to "Doomsday Rainbows" til I picked up on the fact the guitars are driving almost like late seventies Judas Priest. What I think has improved on this album are the lyrics. The paint a picture of a world that is colorfully bleak. The first time I notice some variance in the guitar tone is on "Laughing Abyss". It has a more sardonic vocal, but barrels straight head with restrained fury. There is more of a Gang of Four like punk feel to the groove of "Falling For an Atom Bomb" . They bringing the soundtrack to an apocalypse you can bob your head to. There is a more throbbing groove to "Atomic Christ" that might make this one of the album's best songs, along with the guest spot by David Tibet from Current 93.

There is no mistaking the punk in the opening guitar riff to "Deadenders" it moves into an ode to dancing with skeletons. Then "Haunted Afterlife" guns at such a similar tempo and phrasing of the melody, so I keep alternating between the two trying to find the differences aside from the lyrics. The only one seems to be it backs off a little more on the chorus of the last song. So aside from this I don't have many complaints about this album it's an easy listen and I can just let it play. So I will round this up to a 9.5.