British metal has been enjoying a long-deserved revival since the pandemic, and Bleed From Within are one of the bands leading the charge. Although the Glasgow groove/melodeath gaggle formed as far back as 2005, it was when the world shut down that they found their breakthrough. Single The End Of All We Know exploded in popularity, which was followed by a stack of prestigious festival sets once live music returned.
Today, Bleed From Within are one of the most prolific forces in our scene. Not only do they reliably release albums every other year but, in between, they find time to tour with such superstars as Trivium, August Burns Red and, as of December 2024, fucking Slipknot! To celebrate that seismic success, we’ve ranked the back-catalogue of Scottish metal’s greatest heroes.
6. Humanity (2009)
Before they had such bangers as Into Nothing and Levitate to their name, Bleed From Within were a DIY deathcore bunch. Debut album Humanity was released via independent label Rising Records and, upon re-listening, feels as raw as uncooked meat. The plethora of ’core cliches rules the roost here, with big chugs and Cannibal Corpse-ish tremolo picking overwhelming the strength of the songwriting. At the same time, though, the odd melodic lead guitar line hints at the majesty that would come to define the band’s later, much more characterful material.
5. Empire (2010)
Despite being released just 10 months after Humanity, Empire shows Bleed From Within making some major leaps towards their current sound. From the off, there’s much greater emphasis on the groove metal and melodeath aspects that were waiting in the wings during their debut. This Is Our Legacy opens the album with some clearly At The Gates-indebted riffing, plus heavier and more characterful drumming. This followup is still saddled by some far-from-glorious production, however, so we understand why both this and Humanity have been pulled from streaming services.
4. Uprising (2013)
Now we get to the good shit. In the lead-up to album three, Bleed From Within skyrocketed from Rising to major player Century Media, and the recording quality on Uprising soared in turn. The band’s drive to rule the UK metal scene smashes through during these 13 songs, with their fury both returning and getting channelled into such powerhouse choruses as the title track’s. A tour with Megadeth and the complimentary yet cursed tag of “the British Lamb Of God” followed, with all eyes on the firebrands’ next move.
3. Era (2018)
Fucked over by a behind-the-scenes deal gone wrong, Bleed From Within laid low for three years after Uprising’s tour, during which time all their momentum got squandered. Era functioned as a re-debut of sorts, introducing Steven Jones as the Scotsmen’s new guitarist and, for the first time ever, their melodic backing vocalist. Musically, the band wisely reiterated what made them cult beloveds half a decade prior: highlights like Alive and Afterlife placed even more focus on the heaviness, shoutalong hooks and athletic guitars that previously positioned these up-and-comers as the next big thing.
2. Shrine (2022)
After the breakthrough that was 2020’s Fracture, Bleed From Within couldn’t refine their groove/melodeath fusion any further. So, for the first time since 2010, they turned a corner. Shrine is every bit as episodic and hit-laden as what came before, but also ventures into near-Septicflesh levels of symphonic. The likes of Levitate and I Am Damnation thrust Steven Jones’ singing even further to the forefront, as well. The collective result doesn’t quite carry the same clarity of vision as Fracture, but at the same time you’ll never be reaching for the skip button, either.
1. Fracture (2020)
Upon release in May 2020, Fracture was lightning in a bottle: incensed yet irresistible music when the world most desperately needed to hear it. It was the apex that Bleed From Within had been climbing towards ever since Empire, their grooves, guitars and growls finally colliding in such a way as to make every single song essential listening.
The End Of All We Know earned its anointment as a rapidfire hit with its interweaving of growls and singing, whereas the title track’s ballad-esque format only made its metal blasts all the more rib-shattering. Meanwhile, Ascend’s chorus (“I’ll let you burn, for all our hope was denied!”) and the downtuned rumble of Pathfinder are invigorating enough to make you want to fistfight God.
At a time when everyone was silently seething amidst Covid’s throes, Fracture was the perfect outlet. And now, post-pandemic, that ferocity has turned these tracks into unstoppable barnstormers live. The critical and commercial goodwill Bleed From Within received with this album was unquestionably well fucking earned.
