Despite dwelling in the same league of extremity, Total Fucking Blood are not to be mistaken for Pennsylvania grindcore act Total Fucking Destruction. When comparing band names, though, Total Fucking Blood has a much more brute connotation to it, and their music is testament to the suggestion. The quartet's debut Blaze the Lord has the axiomatic ratio of 11 tracks and 16 minutes of sub-drop-D-tuned blitzkriegs holding about as much equal-handed terror and comedy as a series of nods to "You Suffer" could. It was indulgent but charming, and evinced massive potential that could be achieved with further honing.
Five years later, TFB finally seize that prospect with Real Demons. Time is milked from the very start, with a minute-long introduction of cymbal pitter-patter prefacing the sudden eruption on "Freedom Week", and bassist Pete Biasi manically leaps from inhuman screaming to an affronted bark. His bipolar inflection is unparalleled, but the greatest upswing is to be drawn from the outfit as instrumentalists. Propelled by two drummers, TFB bring forth multifaceted percussive torrents from track to track, and guitarist Adam Burt is spotlighted often on solo duties, such as "AIDS Nazi" and "Youth Attack", where sweltering feedback tantrums take center stage.
Musicianship is found in no better hands than in those of the title track, which, considering its concentrated cadence and the album cover's potential Neu! reference, could be a rare incarnation of kraut-metal grandeur. Endowed with aggressive, driving ambition, no-frills riffage, and a constant intricate beat, Real Demons is brought to a sweeping close. While the repetitive foundation billows, the groove is gradually deconstructed by dysfunctional guitar skronk and tape manipulation provided by Neil Weir.
Real Demons is a grand furtherance of Total Fucking Blood's abstractions. Where the din of their debut widened eyes and provoked some giggles, the followup begins to carve out a niche for the band and propose uncharted experimentalism to the metal genre altogether. It's been confirmed that Real Demons will find a home on wax, but until then, free digital distribution, TFB's new-found ingenuity, and a rather pummeling cover of Minutemen's "Paranoid Chant" are more than enough to warrant an inquiry from patrons of extreme music.
[Total Fucking Blood Myspace]
[Download Real Demons from Candy Dinner]
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