Label: Independent
Release date: 16/05/25
Words by Greg Walker
Si Durrant is a monster, basking in brutality for decades as a pillar of the Aussie metal scene via cornerstones such as In:Extremis, Devolved, and of course the mighty Superheist, among a host of appearances. In being confronted with S.I.D I struggle to come up with a name that matches the sheer venom and ferocity shat forth thus far by Si Durrant’s solo efforts. The closest I can come are Aussie hatecore legends Damaged, however they’re committed to dust these days. So, in stepping up the ante with his second album Black Blood & Broken Bones S.I.D decimates anything and everything in its path, indiscriminately. And I’m here for it.
If you’re familiar with S.I.D’s debut Thugs & Hooligans, you know what you’re in for, but it’s immediately clear there is growth. Si’s execution across the board exudes confidence in his material, performance, and production skills. Black Blood & Broken Bones sees Si backing himself by leaning on slower tempos that break up the speed very effectively, the track sequence deftly set out to make the most of the dichotomy. Prelude to the storm, Exile is a bleak intro that suddenly breaks open to the deluge of Unmarked Grave, at once eviscerating your ears before taking a breath to curb stomp your resolve with a massive bone rattling groove. Distinctly S.I.D from the get-go, barking the album’s intent with pure hostility.
Single Body Snatchers is at first black metal brilliance, until that beastly blended vocal deal in the chorus, capped off with a horrific roarbark delivery that is something truly unique. We’re treated to hints of Paradise Lost before stop-starting into a bridge oozing pure filth. Gravedigger is textbook 90s grind Rot ‘n’ Roll, a mid-tempo hybrid groove machine wielding an almost Fear Factory Obsolete era tone over the chorus. The bridge begats stank face, Si right at home when bellowing out a colossal, primal roar.
Kicking off with a distinct black metal feel, Ulfhednar is a standout encompassing all the frenzied blasts, the mid-paced grooves, the punch, the weight we’ve quickly come to associate with S.I.D. Entirely apt to the subject matter, it’s fitting a sample from horror movie staple Hellraiser declares the berserkers of Norse mythology to be indeed “demons to some, angels to others”.
A magic transition in Souleater sees the visceral pace instantly split so that when the mid-tempo kicked in it took my brain a few seconds to register what we’d actually moved to. An astute 50/50 balance of punk and metal, closed out with a gnarly Bolt Thrower-esque roar of the song title that sounds like it came from the bottom of the diaphragm, Souleater is not the only track to betray its influences.
Bullet Tooth channels Damaged in a chaotic distortion war, This is Hell makes use of a Morbid Angel sounding opening riff, while Immolhate’s guitars are battle-ready Bolt Thrower. Continuing the reverence to guiding lights past and present, closing epic Flesh & Bone churns with a beautifully hideous Heriot-styled despondent dissonance, darkly seductive, hypnotic. Both Flesh & Bone and Depression in particular delve to the crushing depths of Si’s soul, the introspective honesty a more personal and difficult journey inward than ever before, a fresh approach releasing out to the ether some weight of unspoken woes carried like anchor chains no longer required.
S.I.D self-describes as metal punk, and Black Blood & Broken Bones is precisely that, but much, much more. As if to draw a line under his influences, Si includes two cracking covers: GBH’s City Baby Attacked By Rats and Slayer’s Dittohead, both pushing the extremities of the originals, S.I.D’s signature abrasive crunch emphasising the punk attitude in a thrash classic, and dragging the metal kicking and screaming out of a blistering punk nasty.
The production sound is immense. In a side-by-side comparison with solo debut Thugs & Hooligans, it’s apparent there’s been clear growth in Durrant’s studio skills, and I have to say I love how he’s balanced the depth while maintaining ultra clarity. Clear effort has been made with enunciation too, Si’s vocal deliveries coming across as much tougher, more organic, but less of a blunt instrument now. That’s not a put-down of previous work, just noting the extra effort is obvious and pays off.
The album art exudes a true enigma – is the subject’s expression a moaned ecstasy, or the result of an agony inflicted? The answer appears to have already escaped her mouth in a last gasp, which this album’s material most certainly is not. 18 sonnets a soundtrack to a soul-deep scorched Earth policy leaving utter aural exhaustion in its wake, Black Blood & Broken Bones perfectly caters to the spectrum of my tastes: blistering speed versus mid-tempo mayhem versus impossibly heavy slow chunk groove. All five senses are thoroughly engulfed in a sonic inferno, only to be deep tissue massaged by dense lumbering heft backed by vocals drawn from the pit of a lost angel’s despair.
The prosaic nightmare reawakened.
