It’s hard to believe that the upcoming double album from Butcher Babies is only their fourth to date (Or is that fourth AND fifth???) because when it comes to the Metal scene, it feel like BB have been around waaaaay longer than just over ten years when debut Goliath dropped in 2013. But here we are with a double record that’s even more fierce and ferocious than when the Los Angeles outfit first burst onto the scene.
It’s been six years since we last heard a big chunk of music come out of the Butcher Babies camp and with Eye For An Eye/…’Til The World’s End especially, it doesn’t get much more big than this with a hearty 21 tracks over 2 records without a skipper track in the whole bunch! And sure, us Metal peeps are supposed to be all supah serious and shit but gotDAMN if this isn’t one of the most fun Metal records to be released in recent years.
We’re not sure if there’s a specific order you’re supposed to listen to the albums in but we’re going to start with Eye For An Eye, okay? “Sleeping With The Enemy” is all you’ve come to expect from BB and more with both Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey effortlessly blending their vocals yet distinctly having their own voice within this opening Metal maelstrom. “Bottom Of A Bottle” is all huge choruses and anthemic stadium Metal complete with killer solos from Henry Flury and absolutely perfect for stages across the country this summer opening for Mudvayne and Coal Chamber on the Psychotherapy Sessions tour while “Yorktown” is a chugging riff riot with even bigger sing-a-long moments amidst a throbbing bass from Ricky Bonazza with Chase Brickenden backing it all up with the steady stomps from behind the kit.
“Dreaming In Color” is some heady Heavy on a Madonna does Metal ditty with the Pop sensibilities out in full force but loses none of that Butcher Babies edge with “Last Dance” offering up another taste of the strong vocal presence that Shepherd and Harvey both bring to the BB table as this particular infectious romp rides on into the absolutely NASTY “IT’S KILLIN’ TIME, BABY!” featuring Escape The Fate’s Craig Mabbitt. Speaking of featuring, this portion of the double album concludes with a remix of opener “Sleeping With The Enemy” with Five Finger Death Punch’s Andy James adding some extra heft in the guitar department on an already pummeling pillar in the BB echelon of heaviness.
…’Til The World’s End is already a different bag altogether holding the bulk of the tracks here with “Darn That Nightmare” starting things off and sounding like a burlesque show at some twisted carnival while “RED THUNDER” is just brutal and sets the tone of what’s to come on this portion of the double album.
“BACKSTREETS OF TENNESSEE” is just as intense with both Shepherd and Harvey exercising their outside voices for this one with some impressive growls and screams between the two as Brickenden delivers some diabolical drumming that’s unbelievable and Flury shreds away. Brickenden’s powerful pounding continues with the staccato attack that starts “WRONG END OF THE KNIFE” which boasts a huge chorus and then “LAST DECEMBER” is a wholly different animal entirely bringing a sweet yet somber tone with stirring string arrangements among the twinkling atmosphere which slowly morphs into a lumbering beastie.
“BEAVER CAGE” is a riot that practically bounces from Bonazza’s Prog-like bass work and Brickenden’s percussive prowess led by Harvey and Shepherd’s pointed presence that’s bombastic all the way through to the gigantic sing-a-long chorus and then the BB ladies get their Saweetie on with their take of “BEST FRIEND”. And for those missing “old school” Slipknot, pay attention to this one and, actually, a lot of what’s happening on this double record. Mudvayne’s Chad Gray pops up for a surprising turn on the sweeping Metal duet “THIS IS THE PART” which could be this generation’s “If I Close My Eyes Forever”, “SPITTIN TEETH” is an interesting Prog-like pummeler that goes the dirge route and later, “‘TIL THE WORLD’S BLIND” is similar in that it’s this constant flow of Heavy sound with some interesting vocal experimentations and this overlying primal feel
Eye For An Eye/…’Til The World’s End drops on July 7th and you can get your pre-order on of both records now when you head here or here. For more from Butcher Babies, including dates on the “The Psychotherapy Sessions 2023” with Mudvayne and Coal Chamber this summer, follow the band across their socials by clicking here, here, or here.
