Review / 200 Words Or Less
Braindead / Blackbirds
Split

Burn Bridges (2007) Michael

Braindead / Blackbirds – Split cover artwork
Braindead / Blackbirds – Split — Burn Bridges, 2007

The split effort from Burn Bridges teams up two underrated bands that definitely deserve more attention. Pennsylvania's Braindead and Michigan's Blackbirds each deliver original songs as well as covering classic The Stooges songs.

Braindead offers up three originals of melodic hardcore that draw influence from the likes of Turning Point and Kid Dynamite. In between the two "songs" is an interlude track that highlights the band's unique take on hardcore, further allowing them to standout. The band tackles The Stooges' classic "Search and Destroy" and does quite a good job with it - props to covering such a classic tune.

Blackbirds opts to lead off with their cover, they take on The Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog." It's hard to judge their take on it if you've yet to hear "their" sound. But overall it's pretty good, a bit heavier than The Stooges but shows the influence of the legends on their sound. Blackbirds' two originals bear likeness to the work of bands like Tragedy and From Ashes Rise. It's a stark contrast to that of Braindead, but I dig it.

7.0 / 10Michael • July 6, 2008

Braindead / Blackbirds – Split cover artwork
Braindead / Blackbirds – Split — Burn Bridges, 2007

Recently-posted album reviews

Armor for Sleep

There Is No Memory
Equal Vision (2025)

Armor For Sleep return with an album that treats memory like a weapon. It’s delicate, devastating, and impossible to disarm. For those who may not be as old as me and missed their emergence into the emo/indie scene, the Teaneck, New Jersey band started in 2001. Led by frontman Ben Jorgensen, they dropped gems like Dream to Make Believe (2003) … Read more

Imploders

Targeted For Termination
Neon Taste Records, Static Shock Records (2025)

Back in or around 2007 my buddy Jake invited me to a show, I’m not even sure he told me who was playing or if he did I hadn’t heard of them yet anyway. Turns out it was Toronto’s Career Suicide who were on tour with Regulations from Sweden. Both bands fucking ripped and I still remember being pretty blown … Read more

Imperial Domain

Portentum
Wormhole Death (2025)

Formed in 1995, Imperial Domain cut their teeth in the Swedish death metal underground with early demos before dropping In the Ashes of the Fallen (1998) and The Ordeal (2003). After the 2014 death of original vocalist, Tobias Heideman, Imperial Domain could’ve folded into the past like so many of their era. Instead, they came back swinging. The band returned … Read more