Review / 200 Words Or Less
Sirhan Sirhan
Blood

Anodyne (2008) Tyler

Sirhan Sirhan – Blood cover artwork
Sirhan Sirhan – Blood — Anodyne, 2008

Sirhan Sirhan plays groovy hardcore punk with a bit of a noise rock bent and maybe even some of that vintage rock 'n' roll vibe from The Bronx's early work, but with a much heftier guitar sound and harsher vocals.

This album doesn't really have a whole lot in common with what would traditionally be considered hardcore except for being pissed off. But I can understand the Black Flag and Bad Brains comparisons because in keeping with the attitude of those bands, Sirhan Sirhan is scatter-brained, emotionally intense, and doesn't care who it pisses off or what other genres it hijacks.

Comprised of eleven short songs crammed into a half hour, Blood is a fast, old-school hardcore album when it wants to be (see "Decapitate/Disintegrate" and the title-track), but otherwise falls under the category of chunkier, mid-paced punk like Amen, with a slight metallic edge. While Sirhan Sirhan is kind of a summation of punk rock's nearly forty-year history, the band's originality lies in the eclecticism of the sub-genres referenced, and there's enough attitude and anger involved to make it believable.

7.8 / 10Tyler • August 26, 2009

Sirhan Sirhan – Blood cover artwork
Sirhan Sirhan – Blood — Anodyne, 2008

Recently-posted album reviews

Opus Kink

The Sweet Goodbye
So Recordings (2026)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS – “Come Over, Do Me Wrong”, “The Sweet Goodbye”, “I Have to Shine My Sunday Shoes”, “Crucify!” Opus Kink sound like nobody else. To call them “jazz punk” is to massively oversimplify it. In fact, there’s not much traditionally “punk” about them. If anything, it’s “noise rock”, but with traces of almost every other genre you could name. … Read more

Sludgeworth

Second Time Around
Red Scare Industries (2026)

I never got very into Screeching Weasel and the extended family tree. Ignoring the politics of the matter, the music never really hit that sweet spot for me either. But Sludgeworth were an exception. The band released just one album, that I discovered at least 10years after its release, but seemingly disappeared -- only to resurface after a 2022 reissue … Read more

Social Distortion

Born to Kill
Epitaph (2026)

Rating: 🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🚬 / 10 (8 Tipped Martini Glasses and a Cigarette) Remember that movie Fantastic Voyage, where a miniaturized submarine gets inserted into a person's bloodstream on a mission to clear a blood clot in the brain? Well, consider yourself in luck: I’m infiltrating your brain with my own fantastic journey with Social Distortion, which goes all the way back … Read more