GREATDAYFORUP (Flores De Sangre) CD
A few years ago, GREATDAYFORUP have been on a split-CD with Solace, and now they return with this, their first full-length and debut album for Small Stone Records. I'm not sure, if the split release is the reason, but GREATDAYFORUP pay much homage to Solace in their heavy powerful sound and intelligent structuring while never aping them. Like the band from New Jersey they also draw influences from Hardcore, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal and Hardrock so that their songs bear surprising turns, a cavalcade of breaks and stops, while other tracks are more straightforward. A few of the songs will remind the listener to bands like Floodgate, Sunnshine and Only Living Witness but GREATDAYFORUP stand always on their own heavy feet. 'Flores De Sangre' very effectively blends melody, virtuosity and aggression, while the vocals follow the same musical path. There's no denying how much fun this is to listen to, although the vocals are the weakest part of GREATDAYFORUP, but they definitely don't ruin the album. Overall this is a superb debut effort from a band that hopefully is destined for more bigger things in the future and once again Mike Saputo is responsible for the extremely tasteful artwork of 'Flores De Sangre'. How sad, that they split-up!
(KK)