UMUR
"Widespread Bloodshed...Love Runs Red" is the debut full-length studio album by US, California based crossover thrash metal act No Mercy. The album was released through Suicidal Records in 1987. No Mercy was founded by guitarist Mike Clark in 1982 and he was joined by Suicidal Tendencies frontman Mike Muir in 1985. Mike Clark would subsequently join Suicidal Tendencies and No Mercy was dissolved in 1988. The remaining part of the lineup who recorded "Widespread Bloodshed...Love Runs Red" are Ric Clayton (Bass) and Sal Troy (Drums).
Not surprisingly this sounds a lot like the missing link between Suicidal Tendencies second and third full-length studio albums "Join the Army (1987)" and "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today (1988)". Several of the tracks from "Widespread Bloodshed...Love Runs Red" would also be re-recorded for the Suicidal Tendencies compilation album "Controlled by Hatred/Feel Like Shit...Déjà Vu (1989)" and later for the "No Mercy Fool!/The Suicidal Family (2010)" compilation. So the link to Suicidal Tendencies is strong, although the material was recorded and released under a different monicker.
Stylistically the material is crossover thrash metal with Mike Muir´s distinct sounding vocals in front. It´s fast, it can be heavy too, and there is always a raw hardcore punk edge to the compositions. The sound production isn´t of a very high quality, and especially the guitars sound a bit powerless (it´s especially weak sounding on "Controlled by Hatred"). Considering that "Widespread Bloodshed...Love Runs Red" is a 1987 release, it´s not a major issue, but it´s not exactly a feature which enhances the listening experience either. The material on the 9 track, 41:44 minutes long album are consistent in quality and style, and there really aren´t that many ups or lows to mention. The closing track "Waking the Dead" is an exception, because of its easily recognisable heavy main riff, but other than that the tracks don´t stick out much ("Controlled by Hatred" could be mentioned too as a standout track, but in that case it´s not necessarily a positive thing).
So upon conclusion I´d put "Widespread Bloodshed...Love Runs Red" in the same catagory as "Join the Army (1987)", which means that it is a relatively badly produced effort, with a few shining moments and quite a bit of standard quality material. For Suicidal Tendencies fans this is of course a mandatory listen, but for fans of crossover thrash metal in general, I´d recommend quite a few releases before this one. A solid effort...no more, no less. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.