Breed 77 are natives of Gibraltar, one of the last surviving British territories. Their homeland isn't known as a hotbed of cutting edge hard rock, but this band's unique and flamboyant fusion of rock, metal and flamenco is crossing more and more international borders with each new album.
The band's previous two releases '
Breed 77' (2001) and '
Cultura' (2004) were both championed by the rock / metal press, particularly Kerrang and Metal Hammer. Singles from those albums, most notably
'The River', flirted with the charts, and the foundation for a fan base was firmly established. '
En Mi Sangre', that
difficult third album, will ensure the band's upward trajectory continues.
This new material was produced by Ron Saint Germain, a little known but highly revered producer&mixer who's worked with bands like Creed, Tool and Soundgarden. Germain unquestionably creates a more commercial sound, rich, warm, and sonically huge. He smooths away the sharp corners while leaving the dark and heavy hard rock core intact. Arguably, he makes contemporary metal user friendly.
Breed 77's distinctive fusion works best when they dovetail their thick cut riffs with impatient latin rhythms and the raw, passionate strum of flamenco guitars. '
Petroleo' and
'Remember That Day' capture the spontaneity and urgency of flamenco and merge these seamlessly with the systematic melodies, hooks and thumping, bass heavy beats of hard rock.
'
So You Know' and
'Alive' take the template and buff it up with a more immediate, commercial sheen, adding radio friendly strings and harmonies. This probably explains why the latter has been chosen as the first single release from the album, although in these days of instant downloads, singles are definitely a dying, er.breed.
Of the remaining tracks, apart from being an outstanding song, '
Look At Me Now' stands out simply because it conforms to the hard rock norm rather than the
Breed 77 formula. The album finishes with anti-war song, '
Tears', slowing the tempo if not the rhetoric, surprisingly closing the album on a downbeat note. Good song though.
'
In My Blood' indeed.
Written by
Brian Monday, December 11, 2006
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