On sophomore album “Starve”, Blood Youth’s melodic hardcore evolves in style

Blood Youth – STARVE [8.5/10]

Yorkshire-based Blood Youth are back with their sophomore album titled ‘STARVE’, and it’s a big time evolution from their previous melodic hardcore output.

Album opener ‘{51/50}’ sets an eerie tone for the album, and I find myself intensely waiting for that massive hardcore injection I know that the band is setting us all up for! Right as I find myself waiting for the big drop, lead single ‘Starve’ kicks in, showing us that their ability to write melodic, catchy songs hasn’t gone away.

One of my favourites off the album, is ‘Cut Me Open’, opening with Kaya growling, “If we were doomed from the start, why did this even begin?” setting the album up for me with a dark and deep meaning behind Kaya Tarsus’ songwriting abilities.

There is no doubt in my mind that Blood Youth have taken influences from bands like Slipknot and The Ghost Inside but I am totally digging it thus far. Third single to be taken from the record, ‘Spineless’, is a song that really reminds me of Slipknot in a massive way, with the singing especially sounding very Corey Taylor-esque. However, lthough this track is comfortably familiar to fans of nu-metal, there is no doubt that they are putting their own spin on things.

‘Nerve’ has some serious Cane Hill vibes, and this is no bad thing – with a killer bass line, and creepy spoken word vocals to open the track up, this is a belter of a song. It’s still plenty heavy, though, and sets the tone for something you might find (well, hear) at Download Festival. Spooky interlude style track ‘{stone.tape.theory}’ is a great track to ponder and take a breath after the 7 songs heard thus far, until it goes on a different route with track ‘Visitant’ opening the track with dirty, dirty hooks.

Hard, fast, thumping drums in ‘Nothing Left’ and the Linkin Park style record scratches is another turn on this album, changing up the sound again and experimenting,and a band that can experiment and venture out of their comfort zone on an album is a band that deserves success.

Closing the album is ‘Exhale’ and its whole 11 minute outro track is simply massive. It takes a good minute or two to really get into the track itself, but when you’re there, you’re there for the long-haul as Kaya growls, making this track a fierce and defiant call to arms musically.

From their debut album ‘Beyond Repair’ to their sophomore effort ‘Starve’, it is truly a massive leap to where they want to be, and the sound they have mastered to make them standout from other melodic hardcore outfits is impressive. There isn’t really a ballad here, however, and that’s one of the few possible flaws on the record. Vocalist Kaya Tarsus is capable, as he has a really tight tone to his clean vocals, and I just wished we heard more of that, however, nonetheless I’ve given it an 8.5 out of 10. Blood Youth really is THAT band.

–          Dan Bryan