A few weeks ago, my pal Dylan came into our EIN group chat like they were kicking down my door to my room and raved about Boston’s Miracle Blood. Dylan’s band played live with them and they were floored by the energy and musicianship. Having worked with them prior and checking out their previous stuff, I knew exactly what they were talking about, but more so understood after hearing their recent singles for Hello Hell over the last few months – they’re on another level.
2022’s Melter was noteworthy, the opening salvo for a fresh, new(ish) punk-oriented band with something cool to say. Still, something was missing – something found in Hello Hell. The lead singles showed tighter writing, bigger riffs, and an elevated energy, the combination of which made me draw conclusions to Mutoid Man, and I love that band (Stephen Brodsky is also from Boston originally – worth investigating what the hell is going on in that city). There was also a palpable deeper recognition of who they collectively were. I was already interested in the power trio’s new album – now they had my full attention.
Listen to “Lobotomizer” with its anxious melodies or the ridiculously catchy hook on “Phenomenon” and maybe you’d feel the same. These two songs alone make Melter feel meek and timid in comparison, and it was no slouch. Back then, they must’ve had one or two fucks left to give. Miracle Blood are now in fuck debt with negative fucks to their name – in fact we owe them a sizable number of fucks for the pleasure of hearing this new material.
Singer and guitarist Andrew Wong’s voice sounds emboldened, production choices not getting in the way whatsoever of his power or message. He bellows somewhere at the crossroads between Jello Biafra and Messiah Marcolin with an impressive scream on top of that. His best showing is arguably on “Ghosts Marching Slow”, a firestarter of a deep cut with a tempo that takes its time. No matter what, he’s always remarkably intelligible, and not drowning out his own guitar work, Garrett Young’s seismic bass, or Anthony Bollitier’s chest-collapsing drums. Everything just sounds so goddamn massive on this album, but this track stands out among it all.
I got ahead of myself though – opener “Oh My Lord!” is a veritable anthem. The riffs on this track could power a whole city for days. They’re not overly complex or quick either (they saved that for “Phenomenon”), just meaty, size-20 Timberland boots to your jawbone – simple and effective. I get so hype when Hello Hell loops and I can hear it again, and the lyrics are tasty, inspirational even in the proletariat reclamation of property sense:
‘They say that life is not some game
Sometimes I wish, though, that it were
We’d take the Boardwalk by slight of hand
We’d take Park Place for all its worth’
I love the harmony between the guitar and Wong’s voice like on “Lobotomizer” or the title track during the verses, capturing this eerie unease when he sings ‘hold me close, tell me that you want me‘ on the latter song. The slight satire of “I’m Not Complaining” stings in just the right way. The cataclysmic intensity of “First You’ll Laugh…” is only held together by melodies that a band like Whores. might wield, but there’s something about the way Miracle Blood employ them, like no one else could do it like they do, and that may be the case. Even the nice little touches like the gang vocals on “Pets And Owners” that come and go feel special and well-earned.
At the end of it all, after I’ve helloed hell more times than I could count, my brain feels as on fire as the one on the cover, my single remaining brain cell just being cooked like a popcorn kernel – extra butter and salt please. There’s such a command over emotion here where everything feels so deliberate – Wong screams when it makes the most sense or is the most effective and pulls back to reestablish a careful connection with us (and probably also rest his throat because damn). The reins are always in the band’s hands. Things feel held together by a thread of sanity, and yet it’s all so approachable, begging for leering eyes and perked ears.
Miracle Blood may have been in business for ten years now, but it’s with Hello Hell that they really hit their proverbial stride. Every damn song hits on a rare level and you just feel invigorated from them. This is top notch noisy punk that’s endlessly replayable and something fans of heavier music need to try out. If Melter put them on the map, then Hello Hell will surely see the band blowing out the foundations of buildings with their bunker buster approach to the genre.
Band photo by Kristi Xhelili
