Bloody Gears

Frozen Rain [7-inch] (2012)

Rich Cocksedge

Meaty Beaty Beefy and Bouncy was a compilation album from the Who. Each of the words in that title could be applied to the music of the Bloody Gears, although in no way does the band sound anything like Roger Daltrey's aging beat combo. I've found that the most common reference point that is used when describing Bloody Gears would be Greg Sage's the Wipers, sharing as they do a thick yet strangely sparse sound. To be honest, although I can appreciate, and hear, those comparisons, I find it hard to stand alongside them without considering the more noticeable elements of bands such as Killing Joke and early TSOL in what Bloody Gears do, as well as a general permeating U.K. sound, akin to bands like Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and the Wall being present within the music.

This three-track single includes a non-album version of the lead track, "Frozen Rain," which features a brooding and melodic backbone for the majority of the song, albeit not during the first minute when it's a relatively monotonic guitar stabbing away played as a lengthy intro before that spine grabs hold of the track to provide the full bodied support for the remaining three minutes. Personally, I hear a gothic influence here, with a rich, dark and throbbing feel to the song on which sits atop the vocals that help create an eerie quality.

Despite the restrained energy contained within the title track, for me this release really gets going with the more up tempo and vigorous approach of the tracks, "Bite The Hand" and "Tragic Mistake". Here the band breaks out into a sound that has that TSOL influence and also the odd moment that reminds me of both Seaweed and Agent Orange (could "Bite The Hand" be a coincidental title?). I've not heard anything else by this band but will track down the album Landscapes of Disease to see if Bloody Gears is able to match the quality contained on this single.

Most people probably associate Grave Mistake with quite a different kind of musical output but this, along with the recent Big Eyes 7", goes to prove that the label is anything but stuck in a hardcore rut and this certainly adds to an ever increasing expansive suite of releases coming from the label.