Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Aspid - Кровоизлияние (1993)

The symphonic opening to this record belies an allusion of grandeur.  It does come across as quite amateur though with its clumsy composition and goes on a bit too long.  Thankfully after the opening two and a half minutes of pomp, track two starts the album off proper with a scathing riff that brings the promise of exploration of the technical side of thrash metal.  The problem is though that it is just as guilty of going on and on with the same idea as the opening track was.  The blackened vocals, sang in the native Russian tongue of the band are the only obvious positive in the opening few minutes of the seven minute plus track.  For the majority of the song, the band seem to stick to the same repeated progression, layering in more prominent bass sound at times to give the only real variation to the by now tried and tested formula.  By the time the (excellent) solo kicks in I was more than ready to skip to track three but the lead work rescues this track nicely.

This was Aspids only release in a career that spanned an initial nine years (with a brief return in 2010).  It sounds like a debut album from the 90's released on a small label.  The production values are suitably sparse but the mix stabilises all instruments well and the pacing and structure of the album overall show signs of a band able to progress beyond their first venture onto full-length together.  Unfortunately the band dropped of the scene altogether some four years after this record was released with only the drummer seemingly active in metal music at all in recent years.

The racing tempo of track three (this is all in Russian hence I am not naming tracks by title) delivers a ripper of a track for lovers of the more aggressive style of thrash.  The band sound like a cohesive unit on this track and the structure is a little more obvious and ordered, relying less on progressive elements to get it over the line, instead relying on solid riffs and high energy levels.

There's elements of Coroner on here - albeit not as well delivered - but also you can here bits of Sadus and Athiest too.  The smatterings are there but this never quite reaches the odd progressive style of Voivod (thankfully) and the band are able to exhibit a variety of influences on their sleeves throughout the record.  They only come unstuck when attempting these bungling attempts at symphonia or unnecessary atmospherics which are simply not required when the bands obvious strengths lie in their cohesive musicianship using riffs and progressions to build tracks.

Despite not understanding one word of what they say, I do feel a real sense of storytelling across multiple tracks on this album which is a remarkable and unexpected feat.  The grim and angry vocals express the darker side of the release superbly and give proceedings a real sinister edge.  This album is another example of a record that I had no idea even existed and following the Clan Challenge has led me to an interesting new discovery to add to my collection.