Common Wounds – All Night Blood

Time is the big tell-all of one’s abilities stagnating or leveling up, and the guys in Common Wounds show they’re in the latter category with the depth of songwriting shown on their recent album, All Night Blood. An emphasis on the word “depth” is important to note due to the history these four guys share in the Phoenix hardcore punk circles, one of the more overlooked and underappreciated hubs in the punk scene, with names ranging from pioneering groups like JFA, Feederz, and Last Option to today’s notable names like Sex Prisoner, Pig City, and Run With The Hunted.

Common Wounds’ depth comes from a collective two decades of these guys honing their sound in different bands spanning post-hardcore, death metal, and metalcore, with time spent with noted Phoenix groups like Landmine Marathon and Seas Will Rise. Anyone familiar with their backgrounds who reaches the white-noise coda of the final track, “The Diplomat,” will certainly hear their evolution for themselves.

Beyond the band’s chemistry, the record’s production team is a key part of what makes it sound as visceral as it does. The trio of Scott Evans, Zachary Rippy, and Carl Saff have enough credentials in the production process of heavy music crossing hardcore, sludge, and the ’90s-tinged noise rock genres to make them authoritative figures on how one should sound if their musical diet consisted of the early 1990s San Diego post-hardcore realm and the Hydra Head Records catalog.

A notable takeaway from this album is the skillful musicianship on display, with some tracks highlighting each member’s contributions. This is obvious on the title track, with bassist Matt Martinez’s brooding rhythm section standing out in the bridge section alongside the creeping arpeggiations of Corey Rial and Ian Lanspeary. When you add in drummer Steven Campbell’s transitions in different time signatures, the band reveals a dexterity about themselves that isn’t usually associated with hardcore or the noise genres but is more on par with prog-metal groups out there. The bottom line is that there’s no linear writing pattern here; these guys write music with the intent to keep the listener engaged through varied dynamics in each track.

A prime example of this is shown on “Broken Hands,” where Campbell’s odd time signature keeps you tuned in, but it’s the poly-harmonous guitar work of Lanspeary and Rial that stands out with their build-up before the chorus. The verse’s riffs sound very scattered but then rejoin in a wave of tension-grabbing build-up in the pre-chorus before becoming very emotional after the second chorus during the bridge, almost expressing sorrow for a loss of some sort. The dual guitars also repeat this polyphonic prog-crunch octave riff pattern on “Lost Voices,” in addition to “So It Goes,” with the latter’s opening riff sequence reminiscent of the Hinds/Kelliher work on “Colony of Birchmen.”

Another key component of All Night Blood is the emotions expressed in the music itself, and that’s very much evident in “Mile Marker,” with its hopeful opening riff and the dual guitar work that composes a positive, uplifting message, with matching octaves in low and high tones. “Parochial” starts with a singular rolling riff before the second guitar kicks in to add a layer. It has the most emotionally charged vocal delivery on the album, with the riffs matching the song’s urgency and bleakness.

The marketing appeal of Common Wounds caters to folks who would dig groups like Chat Pile and Cherubs, two groups entrenched in layers of noise, textualized by distortion itself or by overall musicianship. These guys fall in the middle, with All Night Blood showcasing their adeptness from years of consistent growth, with each band in their past serving as a carving stone for the abilities showcased on this record.