Fallcie – Bad Blood (darkTunes)

Friday, 3rd April 2020
Rating: 8.5/10

Russian act Fallcie impressed out of the gate in 2018 with their first full-length, Born Again. Considering the overall landscape of the metalcore/groove metal landscape, their dedication to keeping a heavier and more extreme side to their sound. The same can be said for their follow-up, the recently released Bad Blood, which takes what worked last time and improves upon it.

As noted, Fallcie likes to keep things heavy. Unlike many in the genre, they don’t mind doing more than simply dipping their toes into brutality. “Dive into Eternity” absolutely rages from the onset, with a galloping thrash riff towering the landscape and being peppered with blastbeats with glee. Due to this, when the band slows things down into a chorus, they can still keep it a little heavier too, as vocalist Valentina Lavrinenko switches over into clean vocals – something pleasantly avoiding more directly ‘commercial’ influences. Likewise, closer “A Martyr is Born” isn’t afraid to pull out a massive breakdown before exploding into breakneck tempos. But the band does bring a strong sense of melody as well, with some groovy moments in “Transformation” and catchy riffs in “Parasite” offering proof that they can do well in contrasting extremity with some melodic touches to it. Its clear when listening that their songwriting capabilities have strengthened, with a larger dynamic between heavy and catchy at hand, and not simply bouncing back and forth – there’s usually elements of both sides at play at once, like on the showstopping “Eliminate to Dominate,” where some more gentle grooves and riffs share equal footing with more blast-friendly territory and melodic death metal-esque riffing.

A solid progression, Bad Blood further showcases Fallcie’s strengths as an up and coming act. Those who enjoy modern metal, but need a more bloodthirsty side to it at times should get plenty of play out of this one.

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