EP Review: Bleed Electric – So Sick

As part of the ongoing project of reissuing and revitalising the back catalogue, Bleed Electric have arrived at So Sick, an EP that shows how fresh their music still is.

Placed chronologically before their This Is My Masterpiece and Let The Invasion Begin EPs, the five tracks on So Sick reveal how future-forward their music is. They refer to their music style as Future Fresh, and the opening number, which is also its title track, immediately illustrates what that two-word manifesto means.

Unfurling over four minutes, the track hits many of the elements that make the music of Bleed Electric so unique. A mashup of electro-rock energy and metal guitar riffs, it pre-dates SoundCloud rap, though it features that genre’s distorted and melodic vocals and a raw, expressive emotional theme that is unusual for its era. So Sick has a clarity to it, though, and clean production; the louder you play it, the better it sounds!

It’s followed by IX Rapid Eye Movement, one of three tracks from the unrealised concept album The Butterfly Effect. Deeply atmospheric, not to say cinematic, it reads like a psychological drama movie compressed into six minutes, moving from scene to scene, its internal tension rising and falling, a high-energy sound comparable to the jumpscare moments in your favourite horror franchise. The lyrics are cryptic, the story told in parts, as if wanting you to uncover a mystery, should you dare.

Two other songs from The Butterfly Effect – X Training Day and III Chunks Of Your Own Soul – keep to that theme lyrically and soundwise. The lyrics bear close listening, as the seeming thematic and constantly shifting interconnectedness of the three songs and their shared sonic narrative make for a compelling story. III Chunks Of Your Own Soul hits some uncompromising grime and hardstyle moves and an epic guitar riff too. It’s a wild ride that dovetails perfectly with the rawness of the vocals and lyrics.

Even the first four tracks don’t prepare you for Serious Fun, where Blood Electric teams up with the UK group Kryophere. You wouldn’t expect it, but the blackened metal and shredded vocals work amazingly well paired with the uncompromising attitude and flow of the rapping. On an EP that constantly surprises and delights, this is a delightful moshpit of a curveball. It can also be viewed as an unspoken manifesto for Bleed Electric: they will not be confined by convention or genre expectations in their quest to make music that is progressive, inventive, and often ahead of its time.

So Sick was released on the 28th of June and, along with This Is My Masterpiece and Let The Invasion Begin, can be streamed on SoundCloud, Apple Music, and Spotify. Hit up the band on their Facebook and Instagram feeds for more listening options for their music and to keep abreast of the group’s ongoing curation of the black catalogue.