Raw Emo As It Was Meant
Deep Elms' very own Swedish 4 piece have finally unleashed their long awaited full- length debut album 'With Blood On My Hands' and it has definitely been worth the wait.
The band consists of Andreas Soderlund on vocals and guitar, Philip Hall on guitar, Daniel Petterson on drums and Daniel Teodorsson on bass and together they have come up with an unpredictable 12 tracks of frantic, throbbing rock with a sinister and dark edge.
From opening track 'Nothing' - "My heart's leaking blood, I really liked it when you cheated on me" - you are immediately transported into the world of vocalist Andreas Soderlunds and his bittersweet aching heart. He writes about his pain, his distressed soul and his struggle with a dysfunctional relationship and in his own words 'the demons of Black Love'
There is a great originality and a number of compelling tracks throughout this record, all depicting a raw and exposed mass of deep tension and bitterness. It literally takes you by the hand and leads you to a place in your mind where you've been hurt before. A place where the anger, confusion and regret opens up and gushes out of every pore in your skin, until you have nothing left to give and you are empty inside, because that's the only way to stop yourself from hurting. If you have ever felt like this 'With Blood On My Hands' will destroy you and those thoughts you've kept hidden for so long, but it feels good to get it out. You only have to find this in track 2 'Were You Ever In Love With Me?', that Andreas Soderlund's shouts and yearning screams show desperation, the gritty vocals, buzzing guitars and catchy pop hooks only remind you that it's going to be memorable too, even when you stop listening to this record that feeling of self destruction does not leave you, as if you begin to enjoy the pain.
The chaos and contradictory pessimistic optimism does not confuse you but reminds you exactly what it's like to be in the same emotional state. By beginning at a steady pace and finally exploding into one giant mess with the album's end track 'The Greatest'. With some parts resembling Interpol and some resembling Refused, it's a bit schizophrenic, it's also jagged, definitely unpolished and it's almost messy in places but the main thing is that it is the original meaning of Emo. It is pure raw emotion that is not dressed up to be anything else and it definitely deserves to be listened to over and over again.