Track Review: “Demarcation” from Bloodshot!

“Demarcate the copper and the gold, Hang your head – your life’s already sold, Don’t wake up – Is it worth the pain? Bellowing “You’ll never crave our change””

After July found Oxford Groove Death quartet Bloodshot give us a rager of a new single in “Dead Horizons“, their first in three barren years, another one so soon feels like being served with a shot and a beer to chase it down with, the perfect combination. The survivors of Rabidfest in 2019 and 2021 have got themselves a little run of shows coming up including Mortal Metal Festival in Leeds in September, so you’re you’re wondering if they’re worth the admission fee?!

A neutron bomb like the one that destroyed Hiroshima is a small thermonuclear device in which a few kilograms of plutonium or uranium, ignited by a conventional explosive creates nuclear fission in order to ignite a fusion explosion in a capsule containing a few grams of deuterium-tritium. If the live venue is Hiroshima, the plutonium is the bass, guitars, drums and microphone, ignited by the musicianship of Bloodshot, the track “Demarcation” played in front of an audience will be enough to create the nuclear fission reaction and will reduce the venue to rubble, leaving behind enough radiation to wipe out any survivors. It’s that simple. Together the four piece have done the seemingly impossible and created another track which is the very meaning of Death Metal in the hear and now. The drum sound on this new cut is absolutely huge, the bass thunderous and the earworm main riff the kind of call to a mosh pit that can not be denied. The understated leads that build a little Melodic Death Metal flourish into the sound before the solo are decadent while the almost buried gang chant style moments are something that will go down a storm live. It’s impossible not to bang your head on the first listen to this one, the decision of guitarist Mac to pick up the microphone in 2019 vindicated with a powerful harsh unclean vocal performance that decimates the weak, while a fleeting spoken word a touch of class before the final onslaught. Bloodshot are on a hot streak. Stand well back and let them rip or be torn apart in the pit! [9/10]