REVIEW: Bloodbather - And Now All Y'all ****** Got Somethin' to Talk About [2026]
Artist: Bloodbather
Album: And Now All Y’all ****** Got Somethin' to Talk About
When it comes to the latest (and possibly final) collection of Bloodbather tracks, I was apprehensive not only about how I was going to type the record’s name over and over (which I’ve still opted to censor despite the “press pass” offered by Salem himself), but how I was going to describe the record in a way that capitalizes on the blunt and campy nature of it without undercutting it and minimizing the ways in which is it also an inventive and really, really fun experience. In its simplest form, And Now All Y’all Fellas Got Somethin' to Talk About is a collection of bouncy, crushing breakdowns interspersed by riffs that are nostalgic without being irreverent. The Respect Issue 2 wouldn’t be a dishonest summary. Despite that, Bloodbather (much like The Respect Issue) manage to release a record that is completely and totally unapologetic, wasting zero energy with an attempt to be poetic or frivolous. The result is an undeniably earnest—and eviscerating—experience that shines as a crushing entry from a band and songwriter with an immense and ironclad track record.
From the opening moments of “Unlovable,” And Now All Y’all Guys Got Somethin' to Talk About establishes itself as obtuse and intentionally belligerent in its approach to metalcore. A project handled in practical totality by Salem Vex, his own bitterness and misanthropy oozes through every note, chord and chug issued. “Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off” alongside “No Tears, Please” is rife with some of the most gargantuan breakdowns the release has to offer, while the former also features some of the record’s most riff-forward moments. Beneath it all is a firmament of energetic and punchy percussion that lends heft and bounce where needed, and precise speed elsewhere. This dynamic make the longer (relative to “Unloved” and “Lying…”) cuts like “Bloodbather” and “Dog 2 God” that much more robust and satisfying. The band’s eponymous track serves as the most rounded of the songs on And Now All Y’all Dudes Got Somethin' to Talk About—which isn’t to say that anyone needed “well rounded,” but its nice to have all the same. Here, we get just about the only moments of melody throughout the entire release—but still sandwiched between breakdowns driven entirely by vitriol, like the kind that have been in curiously low supply since around 2010.
It should come as no surprise that Vex’s vocals are vicious throughout the entirety of And Now All Y’all Blokes Got Somethin' to Talk About. The same voice behind Deviant and Crucifiction absolutely shines here, oscillating between a shrill, piercing scream and thick low bellow, songs like “Dog 2 God” and the immense “No Tears, Please” see his vocals adapt to just about any need the song presents. It suffices to say that while Vex’s vocals are stellar, perhaps the most refreshing element is the blunt edge with which he takes swipes and gashes at the listener. There is no poetry, there are no entendres—there is just malice and enmity. His moments of vocal technicality exist in sharp contrast against “Closed Curtains, Closed Caskets…,” on which Vex provides a sweltering rap interlude in which his voice floats atop a smooth, lo-fi beat. This is all to say that as if his success in several other projects aren’t evidence enough, Vex seems capable to accomplish just about anything he seems to strive at—but this is especially true when underpinned by brooding breakdowns and jarring, metallic riffs.
My first introduction to this collection of songs was the album title followed by the disclaimer that it’s “basically just old Emmure,” and I think that really sums up the experience very well—on a superficial level at least. Diving a little deeper, the record’s unabashed malevolence isn’t something one runs across in a genuine fashion all too often these days, and it is in that fashion that Bloodbather capitalizes on nostalgia without making it a focal point. And Now All Y’all Got Somethin' to Talk About is a blunt, vicious and immense effort that is an incredible farewell offering—or an equally incredible transition into a different era.
9/10
For Fans Of: Emmure, The Milwaukee Protocol, First Blood
By: Connor Welsh