mewithoutYou. That's a name that probably conjures up a few different feelings depending on which era of theirs you're most familiar with. Most folks might think of frontman Aaron Weiss' poetic, Biblically-twinged lyrics and mellow-to-urgent vocal delivery on the indie rock driven albums of Catch For Us The Foxes, Brother Sister, and onward into the art rock soundscapes of Pale Horses and Untitled. Even with their one-time genre shift to a more folk-derived sound on It's All Crazy, the poetic lyricism of Weiss was still very much there. Well, before this point, they had their debut album, A To B Life, which featured emphatic and emotional screamo-style vocals and the same goes for their I Never Said I Was Brave (INSIWB) EP released the year before. Even through the raw intensity of these two, the poetic lyrics and instrumentation remained (more or less) discernible.

However, the Blood Enough For Us All EP took an even bigger dip into the extreme sound. If you thought the INSIWB EP or A To B Life were intense, you haven't heard anything yet! From the opening track ("The Comfort You Give Is Only Torment"), it sets the stage for what you'll hear for the next 16 minutes: an extreme screamo metal sound with an even less refined feel, screamed (almost anguished sounding) vocals, and heavier guitar work. Like with Kris McCaddon on Embodyment's Embrace The Eternal and Jeff Bettger of Ninety Pound Wuss, Aaron barely lets up on the vocals at all, and it's what I could only describe as someone screaming their lungs and larynx out. This will determine how much you'll like it or not. If you don't like the first track, then you'll probably hate the rest of the EP. But, if you do, then I personally believe you're in for a treat.

The next track is "Flamethrower" (which would be re-recorded for the INSIWB EP). A thing about this track, and some of the other ones, is that there are points in the vocal mix where it sounds like Aaron's trying to come through the speakers. And the duo vocals (between Aaron and his brother Michael, I believe) on this track and the subsequent ones is another touch I really like, especially how they sound just slightly out of sync. It really adds to the power that this release has. The same is doubly true for the next track ("Working In A Factory"), especially with the almost alarm-sounding guitar riff.

On the next track ("I Dare You To Pick Someone To Fight Me"), Aaron's vocals here almost remind me of Dan Weyandt from Zao, and I mean that in the best way possible. There's also a driving tension to the instrumentals and guitars on this one that has a similar energy in the next song, "There Is Hope For A Cut Down Tree," which is the longest track on the EP, clocking in at five and a half minutes. Aaron's vocals here go into this almost manic and frantic sounding state. After a bit, Aaron goes into a bloodcurdling "blegh," which serves as the lead-in to some filtered, backwards sound reminiscent of something you might hear in a horror film. And that leads directly into a sample from the horror miniseries Storm of the Century (as pointed out on a Reddit thread discussing the EP). This continues into a barrage of backwards snippets and soundbites of shouts and screams, and ends with the instruments fading out with a growling sound clip in the background. This track here encapsulates the feel of going mad but has this cathartic quality to it, if that makes sense.

The last track ("Song For A Rapist") is an instrumental track and a really good one at that. It has the driving quality that tracks 3 and 4 have especially, but also serves as a good showcase for the band's talents, stretching their muscles so to speak.

So, would I recommend Blood Enough For Us All? That would really depend on your music preferences and whether or not you like the INSIWB EP and/or A To B Life. If you really don't or you simply prefer mewithoutYou's output from Catch For Us the Foxes and/or sometime after, Blood Enough... might just be a tough sell. But, for folks who are fans of the extreme sides of metal, experimental, and alternative music in general (like myself), I'd recommend it for sure.