Blood

Contrasting the tension of harmony-dusted ballads like “Scarlet” and “The Blood Legion” with the release of feral assaults like “You’re Gonna Listen” and “Comanche”, this L.A. metalcore band swan-dive into the emotional deep end on their fourth album. Deriving momentum from electronics and guitars while stopping for respite in brief experiments, they let their sombre eroticism gradually detonate. “Blood” and “Whore” especially mingle danger with desire: “I am the dark you created/ I am your sinner,” Maria Brink pleads, luring you into her dungeon.