death metal
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When I had to guess about the music on this album, I would have immediately chosen death metal. Putrid, sickening, vile death metal. After all, all the so-called clichès are present: the logo, the titles, the artwork. More of them appear when I play the music: crushing riffs, blasting drums and brutally grinding vocals. I was absolutely right about the death metal guess. Entombed, Suffocation, Bolt Thrower, Dismember and even old Amorphis come to mind when I listen to this album.
Now, let me set things straight about the word 'cliché'. The quartet who wrote and recorded this album have every right to use these ever-returning elements. They're death metal veterans, having all played in several bands before starting Bloodstrike in 2013. Their goal was simple: create a new approach to old school death metal. The way they do it, is quite amazing: they turn the whole thing into eleven furious death 'n' roll songs.
That does indeed mean that there's little to no blast-beat driven passages or flashy guitar solos. In fact, the tempo is often quite slow. But what they lack in speed, they make up for with sheer viciousness and a whole lot of groove. Another element that has been thrown overboard are the elaborate orchestral passages which some death and black metal bands love to use. For Bloodstrike, these are obsolete, they don't add anything to the overall aggressive atmosphere.
What's left is a naked but highly energetic set of songs which could easily set a venue on fire. I can see moshpits forming instantly. Whether it's down to mid-tempo in songs like 'Abomination' or 'Cancer Upon Men' or fast-paced slaps in your face like 'Maggots For A Whore' or 'Bells Of Death', these songs claw, bite and rip the listener apart in perfect nineties tradition.
So take if from me, it took a band of veterans to get the death metal genre back on track again. Well, at least for old school death metal fans who don't like the direction the genre is going into these days (you know, metalcore and stuff). Now, these veterans are about to show the new generation how it's supposed to be done and while they're at it, they might as well smash some of those youngsters right back off stage.
Serge
Now, let me set things straight about the word 'cliché'. The quartet who wrote and recorded this album have every right to use these ever-returning elements. They're death metal veterans, having all played in several bands before starting Bloodstrike in 2013. Their goal was simple: create a new approach to old school death metal. The way they do it, is quite amazing: they turn the whole thing into eleven furious death 'n' roll songs.
That does indeed mean that there's little to no blast-beat driven passages or flashy guitar solos. In fact, the tempo is often quite slow. But what they lack in speed, they make up for with sheer viciousness and a whole lot of groove. Another element that has been thrown overboard are the elaborate orchestral passages which some death and black metal bands love to use. For Bloodstrike, these are obsolete, they don't add anything to the overall aggressive atmosphere.
What's left is a naked but highly energetic set of songs which could easily set a venue on fire. I can see moshpits forming instantly. Whether it's down to mid-tempo in songs like 'Abomination' or 'Cancer Upon Men' or fast-paced slaps in your face like 'Maggots For A Whore' or 'Bells Of Death', these songs claw, bite and rip the listener apart in perfect nineties tradition.
So take if from me, it took a band of veterans to get the death metal genre back on track again. Well, at least for old school death metal fans who don't like the direction the genre is going into these days (you know, metalcore and stuff). Now, these veterans are about to show the new generation how it's supposed to be done and while they're at it, they might as well smash some of those youngsters right back off stage.
Serge
