Reviews list for Excessive Force (USA) - In Your Blood (1995)

I was about two minutes into In Your Blood before I a) checked this wasn’t Biohazard and b) where Biohazard’s two first releases came out in relation to this one. By 1995, we had already had two Biohazard records, and I was a bit of a fan at that point, so the similarities were obvious to me from the start of this album. This got me to thinking about how close my listening tastes could have gotten too early metalcore had my teenage years been more driven by the internet. Then again, I am not sure how much of what passes as metalcore nowadays can be compared to this record, it certainly sounds more hardcore than the increasingly rap metal-based style of Biohazard, albeit those gang chants are still very much prevalent here also.

As usual with my forays into The Revolution clan features, if I am not totally alienated and horrified by what I hear on the first track then chances are that I am going to stay for the album duration and that I will have some positives to highlight, and this is the case once again here with Excessive Force. There is no point that I lose interest in In Your Blood, since it maintains a frantic and pummelling pace for its entire duration, it is hard for me not to be engaged throughout. The punk elements get room to shine (‘Backtrack’) whilst the metallic riffs remain the order of the day very much. I like how this stays true to that 90s hardcore sound whilst still being able to inject some new life into that sound.

Vocally speaking, the style is desperate sounding whilst still maintaining that very aggressive front at the same time. I don’t mind the gang chants, although I suspect my entertainment levels wouldn’t drop if they were absent. Whilst I will not pretend that In Your Blood is big on variation, it is one of the reasons why it works for me, I think. When I look at what carries the “metalcore’’ tag nowadays, I cannot help but feel it is a heavily distorted tag that is perhaps overused. If this is what 90s metalcore sounded like, then it is not very far away from a familiar format in all honesty. In Your Blood is most certainly under my skin, if not quite able to penetrate my veins as the title suggests. What it has done is opened my eyes and ears to a scene I had written off too early it appears.

I've checked out both releases by Excessive Force before when they were a German industrial band. But did you know that they relocated to California and switched to early straight edge metalcore? It's hard to imagine a band changing from industrial to metalcore in the 90s. Probably because I'M KIDDING!!! That's not really what happened! This is an entirely different band with a similar name. There are already a few bands out there named Excessive Force, one other being a white supremacist band.

The 90s straight edge metalcore band Excessive Force made one of the heaviest albums of the scene at that time. It's all within the vocal fury, riffing punches, and drumming assault. And that drumming style would plant the seed for later bands of that genre and maybe even, dare I say it, nu metal.

"Those Who Were" already shows the drumming wrath by Justin McMahon, with the groove and the guitar riffing going well together. The instrumentation is definitely worth moshing to, including the audible yet dirty bass and abrasive vocals. Now for "Distress"... As of writing this review, I've watched Zootopia 2 yesterday and an outside-world friend of mine told me about how dark and violent it is for a Disney movie. Sorry but he's wrong. There's far more darkness and violence in this track, in both the music and lyrics ("I'm breaking the chain and I can hear the bones breaking"). An anthemic mosher! Next, "From Within" is a shorter track that adds some deathly riffing to the metalcore. Proto-deathcore!? Then we have the more hardcore "Backtrack" that ends with a crushing breakdown.

We're already approaching the second half of the album as "Vengeance" makes its mysterious entrance, leading into solid riffing. Vocalist Dan Gump repeatedly declares "Never will I follow blindly!", and some Sabbath-like sections are in great balance with the faster parts. Well done! Then "Misfortune" is one of, if not THE best track here. It's quite strong in the lyrical message of self-reflection and the kick-A riffing. The heavy drumming is also irresistible. Heading deeper in the lyrics is "Judgement Day". Here the music is more melodic while still dark and heavy.

The title track is interestingly the shortest one in the album and placed towards the end while not being the final track. The music and lyrics are absolutely earth-shattering and make another brutal highlight. "No Excuses" actually doesn't sound too far off from Underoath's earlier more extreme material, though don't expect any of the more blackened aspects. "Forwarned" is an unlisted hidden track which has some of the melodic yet brutal riffing later used by As I Lay Dying and For the Fallen Dreams.

I think I would appreciate it more if that hidden track was listed and placed before that 5-minute epic. That would really make In Your Blood the awesome offering that is has potential to be. It's sad that both this band and the German industrial band Excessive Force are no longer active beyond a couple releases, but let's enjoy them while we can!

Favorites: "Those Who Were", "Distress", "Vengeance", "Misfortune", "In Your Blood"