Bloom is the sophomore (or second, as we say in the UK) album by Georgia band Separations, following up on 2015’s Dream Eater.
I have seen them described as a metalcore band but to me, they’re more nu metal.
Their influences are more Slipknot and Linkin Park than anything more modern.
Whatever their pigeon hole or influences, this five-piece, consisting of Will Crafton (Vocals), Myles Priest (Guitar), Tyler Whitfield (Guitar), Brenden Worthington (Bass), and David Richey (Drums), are certainly committed to their art.
They belt out the tunes with 100% gusto from opener “Hollow” all the way through to track 10 and “Backfire”.
Vocalist Crafton ranges, on almost every song, from sweet songbird to hairy buffalo, from melodic tenderness to gruff noisemaker. I know which version I prefer and it’s not the shouty one.
Brenden Worthington’s bass work is prevalent on “Hollow”, being the driving force behind the opening track which really sets the tone for the rest of the album.
This set tone, however, proves to be the only tone they’ve really got, unfortunately. Some tracks may start or finish differently but they’re all basically the same. Driving uber-powerful riffs, melodic vocals conveying strong lyrics carries us through pleasantly until we reach the shouty anarchic stage, then we return to the more straightforward aspect of the track.
This, of course, is a trademark of nu metal which is fine but to have it on every track became a little tedious as the album kind of merged into one.
If you like this brand of high energy metal then stick with it, you’ll enjoy it, but to me, it lacked variety, had no discernable guitar solos (another nu metal trademark I suppose) and those “Cookie Monster” vocals did nothing to enhance the listening experience.
I may fault their album but I cannot fault their commitment, they totally buy into what they’re doing and more power to them for doing so.
You may disagree with me after watching the video below and may indeed feel like buying the album which you can do by following the link, also below.
Bloom is out on Imagen Records.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i043k9BCW_A[/embedyt]
