Ross Harding – The Blood & The Blues
Following the release of two impressive EPs in 2022 and a clutch of more recent, noteworthy singles, South African-born, UK based dark blues singer-guitarist Ross Harding has delivered his first full-length release The Blood & The Blues.
A moody reimagining of traditional blues with dark and ominous undercurrents (strengths and traits of Harding’s music), The Blood & The Blues is bookended by two very different versions of an earlier single, the brooding 'A Thousand Snakes.' And both are worthy of inclusion.
The 'Deluxe Version' of the song, which was also a 2024 single, is a fully remixed workover that reimagines the thicker layered darkness of the original as an earthier, slightly haunting, stripped-back version. Dark Blues Delta, if you will.
Closing out with the grittier, grunge-tinged original version of 'A Thousand Snakes' makes for very strong album bookends, but the other six tracks, including three singles released this year and two rerecorded reworkings of previously released songs, are their match in darker shaded blues and atmosphere.
The album's title track is a semi-anthemic tour de force of dark rock blues.
A pulsating and rhythmic mid-tempo, 'The Blood & The Blues' serves as the perfect vehicle for Ross Harding’s deep, resonating vocal, backed by some rugged riffing and a bristling guitar solo.
'Me & Lucifer,' with its train track rhythm and heavy acoustic boogie, is a great example of Ross Harding’s ability to take a more traditional blues style and give it a darker, modern edge.
The same reimagined makeover can be said of the moodier, acoustic led 'Revelator Blues.' Influenced by the luminary likes of Robert Johnson and Son House, it’s an old blues in new, raw blues shoes.
'No Rest For The Wicked' is a fuzzed guitar blues built on an insistent beat and a repeating lyrical refrain of the chorus/ title. It also sports a tasty little guitar solo.
'Black Rose (Acoustic Version)' is just that, an acoustic take of the lead-off song on Ross Harding’s debut EP Rest & Resurrection.
Given 'Black Rose' is one of the best and most cinematic songs Harding has yet written and recorded, it fully deserves its acoustic place here, not least because Ross Harding is a dual threat in the live environment as both a solo acoustic performer and with his full electric band.
Also receiving a second outing is the slow and melancholic 'Dark City Blues,' which is even better, and longer (at six-and-a-half minutes) this time around, with more space to breath and sporting a tastefully dark solo.
Those familiar with Ross Harding’s previous releases will recognise 'Dark City Blues' as one of three tracks on Harding’s 2023 maxi-single 'Everything Is Black,' which included a cracking version of Black Sabbath’s 'War Pigs' (arguably the metallised prototype of dark blues).
Ross Harding’s previous releases and live outings (including opening for fellow South African blues artist Dan Patlansky, the riff-rocking Jack J Hutchinson and rising American roots rock band Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast) have garnered him some deserved attention, but the hope would be The Blood & The Blues puts him on an even wider musical map.
More Dark Blues power to him.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
A moody reimagining of traditional blues with dark and ominous undercurrents (strengths and traits of Harding’s music), The Blood & The Blues is bookended by two very different versions of an earlier single, the brooding 'A Thousand Snakes.' And both are worthy of inclusion.
The 'Deluxe Version' of the song, which was also a 2024 single, is a fully remixed workover that reimagines the thicker layered darkness of the original as an earthier, slightly haunting, stripped-back version. Dark Blues Delta, if you will.
Closing out with the grittier, grunge-tinged original version of 'A Thousand Snakes' makes for very strong album bookends, but the other six tracks, including three singles released this year and two rerecorded reworkings of previously released songs, are their match in darker shaded blues and atmosphere.
The album's title track is a semi-anthemic tour de force of dark rock blues.
A pulsating and rhythmic mid-tempo, 'The Blood & The Blues' serves as the perfect vehicle for Ross Harding’s deep, resonating vocal, backed by some rugged riffing and a bristling guitar solo.
'Me & Lucifer,' with its train track rhythm and heavy acoustic boogie, is a great example of Ross Harding’s ability to take a more traditional blues style and give it a darker, modern edge.
The same reimagined makeover can be said of the moodier, acoustic led 'Revelator Blues.' Influenced by the luminary likes of Robert Johnson and Son House, it’s an old blues in new, raw blues shoes.
'No Rest For The Wicked' is a fuzzed guitar blues built on an insistent beat and a repeating lyrical refrain of the chorus/ title. It also sports a tasty little guitar solo.
'Black Rose (Acoustic Version)' is just that, an acoustic take of the lead-off song on Ross Harding’s debut EP Rest & Resurrection.
Given 'Black Rose' is one of the best and most cinematic songs Harding has yet written and recorded, it fully deserves its acoustic place here, not least because Ross Harding is a dual threat in the live environment as both a solo acoustic performer and with his full electric band.
Also receiving a second outing is the slow and melancholic 'Dark City Blues,' which is even better, and longer (at six-and-a-half minutes) this time around, with more space to breath and sporting a tastefully dark solo.
Those familiar with Ross Harding’s previous releases will recognise 'Dark City Blues' as one of three tracks on Harding’s 2023 maxi-single 'Everything Is Black,' which included a cracking version of Black Sabbath’s 'War Pigs' (arguably the metallised prototype of dark blues).
Ross Harding’s previous releases and live outings (including opening for fellow South African blues artist Dan Patlansky, the riff-rocking Jack J Hutchinson and rising American roots rock band Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast) have garnered him some deserved attention, but the hope would be The Blood & The Blues puts him on an even wider musical map.
More Dark Blues power to him.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ