Review #2: Shai Huld - That Within Blood Ill-Tempered

artist: shai hulud album: that within blood ill-tempered label: revelation records released: 5/20/2003 by: eduardo moutinho Shai Hulud is an interesting band to say the least. Named after a strange, worm-like creature, from the novel Dune, with a former singer now playing guitar for New Found Glory, and with band members who wield Bert and Ernie sticker-clad guitars and prosthetic limbs, this band sure has its quirks. But I can, at least, say one sure thing about them, they sure know how to melodicore. Although Shai Hulud has been around the block for a while now, they’re still coming into their own when regarding the scene. Amazingly, their first show in Denver was as recent as the summer of 2002. Fortunately, for the band, they can now call themselves well traveled when it comes to the continental United States. With this newfound fame on the west coast and mid west, they couldn’t have selected a better time to drop their latest CD, That Within Blood Ill-Tempered, for us all to enjoy. Granted, much has happened for the group during the uncomfortably lengthy time period between this release and the last. As mentioned above, the first singer of the band left to devote all his time to playing guitar for pop punk princes, New Found Glory. This left Shai Hulud with a difficult task on their hands, to find a new singer capable of replicating the distinct vocal styling of their former singer. Thankfully, this task was completed with impeccable results. The new, Abercrombie-esque, pretty boy singer, validates the term “looks can be deceiving” as he sounds completely identical to the now MTV-friendly former vocalist. This record acts as the debut for the newly recharged Shai Hulud, and it delivers. That Within Blood Ill-Tempered doesn’t really follow the path of reinvention. Rather, the overall sound of the music on the album is more of the same, which in my opinion isn’t bad at all. Shai Hulud helped popularize melodicore, and they do it better than almost anyone. With clearly defined and crisp vocals, along with harmonic and solid string work, the group takes their much-emulated sound and runs with it. If you’ve heard Shai Hulud’s releases, you already know what to expect. There is a lot of melody in the music. This isn’t Unearth. It’s heavy music, but it doesn’t leave you gasping for air after listening to it. It’s almost uplifting to hear the music that this band plays, as the melody is so prevalent. The singing is inspired, and the lyrics are somewhat understandable, an almost impossible thing to say about hardcore vocals. The short punk-influenced intervals make their appearance known during a few songs, as the drums go into double time and the rest of the music follows. This is Shai Hulud to the tee. I wanted this all along, and I’m happy it’s here. The recording quality, which was my biggest concern coming into this record, is good. The vocals do come across a tad strangely. I’m not sure, but they seem a tad muffled and not at that optimal level that they could be at. But it’s a minor concern, as it’s something that I have become used to already. Other than that, this is the best-sounding Shai Hulud release I have heard. As far as noteworthy songs go, I plan on going away from that with my reviews, as I think people should listen to the record and find their own favorites. But I would definitely say that my favorite songs are “This Song: For the True and Passionate Lovers of Music,” “Two and Twenty Misfortunes,” and “Given Flight by Demon's Wings.” They’re well-done pieces, that are the type that I can listen to repeatedly without getting bored. As far as gripes go, I don’t have many, but I guess I do want to mention that there are a few corny intros to some of the songs. These intros consist of silly movie quotes, to make the song seem more epic, or even badass. I don’t like it; in fact, I find it to be stupid and cliché. Also, a couple of songs seem rushed as they have very few transitions, and seem to be a bunch of random parts thrown together to fill up disc space. Overall, this is a very solid record, and I thank Revelation for sending it to us for evaluation. Shai Hulud is one of those bands that have managed to establish themselves as one of the leaders in the hardcore scene. They’re not a band that is out to advance music in general. They write what I guess I can call “feel-good hardcore.” This release was highly anticipated by the greater hardcore community, and I think it’s safe to say that it will be received with open arms. favorite song: “this song: for the true and passionate lovers of music” overall rating: 88%/100% listen to shai hulud