CREDIT: I SMELL BLOOD
Living just a few houses away from one of Interrobang's resident reviewers is I Smell Blood, a two-person band slapping wicked bass and hammering out crazy rhythm on drums.

Literally just up the street from my own residence is a house inhabited by good people and talented musicians. Due to its connection with the label of the same name, the Out of Sound house, as many know it, produces a lot of music from its corridors and every so often throws great shows in the blanket-draped living room.

One of those cool projects is known as I Smell Blood, and there is certainly a lot of buzz coming from both the band’s amps and people’s mouths when they make their appearance. Last year, I Smell Blood released Manface, recorded in the Out of Sound house by Adam Sturgeon, who is the brains behind Out of Sound and various non-musical community projects, and Nathan Lamb with glorious results.

I Smell Blood is a two-piece drum and bass band similar to groups like Lightning Bolt and Death From Above 1979. While the band doesn’t have vocals, the guys make up for it in crunchy, devastating bass riffs.

The drums are beefy with lots of hardcore punk influence and perfectly compliment Zon’s strange but incredibly catchy bass riffs. Seeing them live is even more of a treat as they hold nothing back in terms of volume or performance. I Smell Blood is one of the marginal bands out there that show you don’t need a guitar to play abrasive music.

As Ric hammers out a variety of weird rock rhythms and intense blast beats, Zon chugs the aforementioned riffs through an interesting chain of pedals and amplification. Truthfully, the timbre of a distorted bass is one of my favourite sounds and probably one of the main reasons why I started bass in the first place.

From the fuzzy grooves that Paul McCartney laid down in the days of yore to Cliff Burton of Metallica fame bringing the bass to the spotlight, bass has long been a neglected and overlooked instrument in rock bands.

Recognizing this gives you a new appreciation for bass players who can hold down more than just a rhythmic groove. The bass guitar, with its dynamic range, can create stunning textures with effects and become a spotlight instrument with virtuosic solos on par with the guitar greats. Though I’ve never really discussed this in detail with Zon, I can sense that he understands the importance of the instrument in this regard. It is probably why he chose to play bass for this project in the first place.

Busy as the guys are, I Smell Blood is a group you want to see in the time you spend here in London. The band can’t be recommended to any specific group because the duo really transcends a lot of different tastes.

Fans of grooves and music with feel will enjoy I Smell Blood just as much as fans of heavy, riff-centric music will. There’s nothing to really be turned off about unless you don’t like loud volumes. Even then, you can still buy earplugs. Give Manface a listen and see what you think for yourself. It can be streamed and downloaded at ismellblood.bandcamp.com.