Poison Blood - Poison Blood
Relapse Records
Black Metal + Weirdness
8 songs (18'35")
Release year: 2017
Relapse Records
Reviewed by Alex

Poison Blood is a duo, and while the name of Jenks Miller was unfamiliar to me heretofore, Neill Jameson handling vocals and writing lyrics for Poison Blood garnered immediate interest. It is probably interesting for many US black metal fans what the voice of Krieg is up to (Neill’s recent participation in The Royal Arch Blaspheme was a success in my book).

With names come certain expectations, but Poison Blood eponymous EP left me scratching my head a bit. It is fairly certain that the duo did not just want another familiar USBM album, but it seems that the EP was not fully baked. Although stylistically Poison Blood has nothing to do with Dawnbringer, while listening to this EP I was somehow thinking about In Sickness and In Dreams. Both very short outputs, on Poison Blood and In Sickness and In Dreams the bands presented some broad strokes for a number of eclectic ideas, without committing to the style or the future. Only if In Sickness and In Dreams is one of my favorites by Dawnbringer, Poison Blood, the EP, does not make me burn with anticipation for more material from the Poison Blood, the band.

Trying very hard not to be just strictly black metal, Poison Blood are all over the place. The Scourge and the Gestalt is tubed out doomy oppressor, but the roots must be the roots, so Deformed Lightsand Myths from the Desert are treading real close to Krieg and early Nachtmystium. Deformed Lights has a quick, almost folky, clearing in the middle, while Myths from the Desert rides its main riff, but overall is a really sullen cantankerous track. It is starting with The Flower of Serpents where things really go weird. It is if Poison Blood said the hell with trying to frame an idea into a song. It is enough to present a sketch. The Flower of Serpents is 50 seconds of synth notes, and Shelter beneath the Sea and From the Lash just dart in with a quick burst of ugliness before retreating. With pun intended around the band’s moniker, the poison blood is certainly loaded into the sting, the proceedings are so quick, however, there is no telling whether this sting did any damage. Circles of Salt closes with another almost instrumental where cold, bleepy and claustrophobic feeling dominates originally.

Poison Blood is exclusively for underground music fans only, accessibility is not a name of the game here, but even then, it is only if you never miss a single note with Neill Jameson’s name attached to it.

Killing Songs :
Alex quoted 65 / 100
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