Most Precious Blood

Most Precious Blood is pissed off again. Religious fanatics, numb consumers, faithless exes, vapid politicians and those thoughtless carnivores all suffer in the New York gothcore assailant's Merciless/onslaught. Rob Fusco's seething vocals harmonize with the hurtling guitar work of Justin Brannan and Rachel Rosen in a smoldering manifesto against apathy and insincerity. Influenced as much by industrial thrashers like Ministry as by twenty years of ruthless NYC hardcore bands like Sick of It All, Most Precious Blood deftly employs creepy samples and electronics to augment its vigorous metalcore mix. Meanwhile, provocative artwork adds to the injuries: The cover of 2003's Our Lady of Annihilationportrayed a sad-eyed, rather sexy Virgin Mary with dynamite strapped to her chest, and the gatefold of this year's Mercilessis a hyper-real photograph of the decomposing body of a corpse that appears to have been beaten to death and forgotten. Probably found the poor fella in the pit at a Most Precious Blood show.