i live my life until the end and i give the promise to keep this crowd alive

TEARS OF BLOOD - "TEARS OF BLOOD" ("Lucifers Legions Records"; CD):

First of all, no, this is not a Black Metal band / release like some of you might think by looking at the name of the label. That said, hm, some may have mentioned that the bandname also once was a songtitle of the great BIOHAZARD. "TEARS OF BLOOD" is a song of them you can find on their "URBAN DISCIPLINE" masterpiece, in case you don't know that. Don't know if TEARS OF BLOOD, they are coming from Germany out of the region called 'Ruhrpott' (and I think some bandmembers of them also play in the german Oi! Punk band EMSCHERKURVE 77...), named themselves after this BIOHAZARD track, but how-ever, this shows you the direction of the music and that's to be called as Hardcore. I've seen them once live in Goslar and bought their first (?) record "KINGS WILL BE KINGS" at this concert. The record was okay, a solid release, but it was lacking the power and the energy and the enthusiasm of their live show, because live they were fuckin' great. Then I've lost the band completly out of sight (don't ask me why and how...) and I've already thought that they had called it a day some time back. But, suprise, suprise, then I saw this record here and without a second thought I decided to go and get it. They've changed or (much) better developed their style a pretty bit. The Tough Guy affiliation and Crew mentality, that was to be noticed on the first record, they have shut it down pretty much, and the songs are often more marked by a very melancholic and sinister, maybe sometimes even depressive atmosphere (just listen to "NOTHING IS NEVERENDING", "ONE LOVE, ONE CHANCE" and "JOE BLACK"), and that's making the band already and of course a little bit unique in today's (german) Hardcore circus. That's always a good, if not a very good thing. What's a little bit annoying me is the fact that the Metal influence had become much more stronger than before, and especially for example the Intro and the Outro sound like a mixture out of old METALLICA and some clichè Death Metal crap. Brrr, guys, take the other direction the next time again, haha. So, to point that out, what you get from them is metallic and melancholic-sinister, very heavy Hardcore with some Tough Guy or Beatdown roots grounded on. But the Tough Guy or Beatdown elements are yet only very rudimentary and also very obsolete, and it could be exciting to see the future development of this band. But also already today, really good and interesting stuff, for sure!!! Also the lyrics moved quite a bit away from their earlier contents, dealing nowadays pretty much with issues like the fading away of human existence, tragic losses, love, and criticism of the state of the world today, going your own way without any compromise to the schemes how society (or also even your 'own' scene) wants you to be and also the pure and through and through Hardcore anthem "THIS KING HAS LOST HIS CROWN" is far away from your usual 'Bollo' stuff. So, the thumbs go up for the lyrics as well as this record. The artwork looks great, so it's all in all a truly good release, even the production sound could be a little bit harder and especially more clear, but okay, how-ever, it's not bad at all. Give them a fair try and spend them a good round, really good stuff and I was very suprised (in a positive way) of the development of TEARS OF BLOOD. Ah, this record came already out in 2008, but I just get aware of it this year in 2010 (I know, shame on me...), so maybe there will be coming some new stuff of them very soon, in case they are still existing, haha;-). Good stuff, well done, so keep on the hard and good work, it was a huge step forward guys, no matter if you take the music or the lyrics, thumbs up!!! (8 of 10 points)

(http://www.myspace.com/kingswillbekings)

Now I will give you the video of their song "KINGS WILL BE KINGS" to watch and listen to. It's the title track of their first (?) record from 2005, so it's not that representative any more, at least I think so, but I couldn't find a video of one of their newer songs, sorry. But, by the way, it's still a fucking good song of Tough Guy Hardcore, already blended with that special guitar vibe to it that they've worked out very strong on their above reviewed record. I think this video was produced more or less professional by the band itself back in the days and it's a good clip at all, okay, representing the whole Tough Guy Crew Mentality, Violent Dancing, etc., but hey, what's that bad about it all? I don't know, so just enjoy it, it's a nice clip (, that was also the bonus on their "KINGS WILL BE KINGS" release of 2005)!!!

TEARS OF BLOOD - "KINGS WILL BE KINGS"