Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Cleveland, Ohio is known for breaking new ground in music, and Biastfear is a perfect example of this with their nu metal flavor. With the release of their second album, "All Angels Scream", Biastfear may create yet another new Cleveland sound. Self described as “A combination of heaviness and harmonies, blending heavy rock/r&b/pop with hip-hop into our own original musical style we've deemed "heavy-hop." At first listen you notice the incredible vocal potential of the frontwoman, Crystal Moore. Their combination results in an aggressive sound that is energetic and powerful, yet flowing and melodic with crunchy guitars and thick, throbbing bass.

It starts off with "In Throughout", a catchy track that varies from its melodic chorus to muddy percussion, taking off into a catchy grooving rock phase. It changes completely with some serious rapping that just doesn’t seem to belong here on “Coming Down”. Complete with vengeful lyrics, this is a song that tells a story. The band, as a whole, has a great chemistry, although I really love her singing backed by the balls out backup of the guys in the band. The combination of her magnetic vocals and the hard rock/metal edge of Rob Shultz (bass, vocals), Ormi (guitar/Vocals/Keys), and Skitch Breda (drums), is an aggressive and unique twist, sort of creating their own genre.

It changes again next track with a stand out track, “All Angels Scream” where a rumbling bass intro gives way to Crystals soulful vocals, a clean development that progresses into a rock story that builds into a metal core anthem highlighted by her breathy vocals. Next is a heavy guitar crunching simplicity in “Holding On” and my favorite off this effort, “My Own Enemy“ a soulfully rendered and infectious track, it starts with the pure brutality of the back up vocals, which flow into a streamed rap backed by a thick guitar crunch and tight percussion. Mid song it kicks into a heavy bass line, guitar lead that carries the song through. There is a break here, an announcement denouncing music censorship, and then it falls into the crunchy, keyboard laden “Look at Me” that has a “psycho metal Blondie” thing happening, if you can imagine those three things in your mind, this song is it. Mid song Crystal showcases her impressive vocal abilities while the band fades to silence.

Track 8, “Shattered” has some seriously intense hooks and a layered sound rich with the combination of singsong and thrash metal back up vocals. So far this is easily my favorite song of this track, and definitely the most unique. It falls apart a little bit at the end when it progresses into a super fast tempo’d thrash, but the bass line saves it end the end and leaves it screaming with attitude. The next song, “Don’t You” is a slow burner that shows off more of their energetic front woman’s raw talent and the infectious groove that this band will probably become well known for. 

“Planet Skitch” is a tribute to the drummers percussive prowess, which seems exceptional on this album, although poorly mixed. It rocks right into the ending tracks on the album, the soulful and poignant “Honest”, the comical opening spoof “No Sleep Til Cleveland and finishes with “Untitled Track” which makes up for in groove what it lacks in title!

Overall I would say that BiastFear has a solid thrash edge that stands them apart from other bands, and this is highlighted by the contrast between the music and their vocals.

My next thought was that the overall production is lacking in dynamics. Some of the songs seem to have a better mix then others, but you can definitely tell its an indie release. I think with a little songwriting time together and a decent production team this band could shock the world with their truly unique sound.