Though Five Foot Thick have been wrestling with their musical demons since 1997, these Spokane, Washington natives have managed to keep their presence relatively low on most peoples radar. Rather than force themselves into an already crowded music arena, these five men have set their sights on their local scene, steadily building a powerful reputation as one of the area's heaviest acts. An independent release, "Circles" quickly found a home with thousands of starving metal fans, and after years of headlining in their local area, they have now found themselves a part of Eclipse Records growing roster. Unbridled rage fuels the fire in this group's belly, and this energy has been funneled into an album that is as intense as they come in the world of modern metal.

It is this feral intensity propels the vast majority of "Blood Puddle", hurdling from one track to the next with an unquenchable thirst for hard rock, but the band appear reluctant to let go of their past. Traces of hip-hop are unavoidable and though the band try to mask these moments, mainly by embracing a more metallic style in the vein of Otep, this choppy rhyme scheme drags their feverish energy down. Matt Gonzales flounders when using his abilities on such styles, as the addition of his sampling and turntables only hinders the group from moving beyond such formulaic nuances. When he turns his attention to aiding the band as an atmospheric enhancement his skills show much more potential, primarily behind the keyboard. The darkly ambient presence of "Nothing" is one of the album's most compelling moments, and allows Gonzales' moody keystrokes to draw forth the song's residual anguish from amidst the heavy thrust of down-tuned guitars. Meanwhile, vocalist Bryan Dilling has cultivated a throaty rasp that is implemented for the majority of his singing and it is a tone that grates one's ears without remorse. However, to the band's credit his strained delivery does give the group's otherwise familiar metal assault a distinctive edge.

Five Foot Thick have seemingly uncorked a source of anger that has been bottled up for some time as the songs offered on "Blood Puddle" are teeming with hostility. By the end of the album you have a clear impression that these men have been waiting for quite a while to unleash this brooding hatred and are capitalizing on the chance given to them.Yet the fact that the catalyst for this oppressive rage is never revealed prevents the group from ever completely gripping the listener. If given a little direction, this volatile tenacity could be a tremendous asset for the group, giving them a tangible emotion to drive their metallic testosterone. They do show a flair for catchy hard rock and know how to effectively write metallic hooks, but their tendency to incorporate readily familiar riffs greatly hurts their originality. Ultimately, while Five Foot Thick still seem to be trying to find their own groove, this outing does come off as a solid example of what they are capable of doing, delivering a vicious slab of modern rap-tinged metal that pulls no punches and openly wears its scars for all to see.