Blöödhag “Hell Bent For Letters” Review

Seattle edu-core pioneers Blöödhag have one of the most imaginative creeds in modern metal, “The faster you go deaf, the more time you have to read.” The group, rounded out by published science fiction authors Prof. JB Stratton, Dr. JM McNuity, Sir Zachary Orgei and Master Brent Carpenter stand by their word, promoting literacy not only through the band’s music but the band’s self-promotion. Are there downsides to touring the library circuit one might ask? Some maybe, but the upsides are there; the band has been featured on NPR, BBC Radio 4 and has had a feature in Thrasher Magazine.

Edu-core, as a movement, includes music that has a central theme, leaving the audience a lasting piece of knowledge or some sort of food for thought. Generally based on the theme of science fiction, horror and fantasy writers, each of the band’s songs are named after a particular author, giving a general look at the author’s life and writings. What lyrical form can this take? The finale in “Franz Kafka” concludes “He could not confess his duress. Self-imposed house arrest. Yet he expressed with such success, that now they call it Kafkaesque.”

The band, now in its eleventh year, comes across in a style of grind-core made famous for its undecipherable lyrics, crunching percussion and distracting guitars. While playing entirely undecipherable music, the band still stresses reading, emphasizing the audience to read the lyrics and liner notes of the songs and read the books that the band throws out at each show. While the theme of promoting literacy is entirely commendable, it ultimately fails to a certain extent as the music doesn’t come across in a medium either fashionable or understandable for its general audience. Solid grind-core, but grind-core nonetheless.