|
I've got to
admit - I'd not heard of Bloodbound until I was given this new album.
On first impressions they remind me of Hammerfall (being melodic metal
from Scandinavia too, indeed the promo bumpf with the CD states that
should Hammerfall ever split, singer Joachim Cans would like to join
Bloodbound!), but singer Urban Breed has a stronger voice, coming across
Dio like, especially on album opener 'Sweet Dreams of Madness'.
The aforementioned 'Sweet Dreams of Madness' starts off with a tight
pummeling drum beat, which carries on through the song, carried along
with an almost thrashy guitar riff. Some frenetic soloing towards
the end edge towards the progressive, before the drum beat returns as
Breed declares he's "Turning the inside out". This is
probably my favourite track on the album and an excellent opener.
'Domininon 5' is next up, and Breed stretches his voice further, along
with some nice vocal harmonies. Some good opportunities for head-banging
in this one, before the track breaks down into a "lighters
aloft" passage, before returning to the heavy stuff.
"What if its all a lie, or just a waste of time?" croons
Breed on 'Take One', the third track on the disc. This one is pretty
similar to 'Dominion 5', with a similar riff, however a blistering
guitar solo in the mid section is the killer difference. This
track has also probably got the catchiest chorus on the album....
'Tabula
Rasa' comes along next, and has an epic sounding quality, again with
another excellent guitar solo. The pace doesn't slow down at all and a
catchy riff helps keep the track chugging along at a fast pace.
Definitely one of the stand out tracks on the album!
'Night Touches You' slows down the pace slightly, the keyboards high in
the mix and some fine vocal harmonies give the track a gothic feel,
(actually reminded me a little of Dream Theater's "Forsaken").
There's again some lighters aloft moments, and Breed probably stretches
his voice the furthest on this track.
'Tabula Rasa Part 2' instantly reminded me of Megadeth's 'Kick The
Chair' with its opening drum riff......which is a good thing! The
track is basically a continuation of 'Tabula Rasa', track 4, and is the
heaviest track on the album.
'Plague Doctor' is another head-bangers delight, with more quality
guitar work from brothers Tomas and Henrik Olsson.....disappointingly it
seems to end just as its getting into the swing of things....
Track 9, 'Twisted Kind of Fate', brings the kick-drum riff back to the
fore, similar to the album opener, with a slightly slower pace. Another
epic vocal performance from Breed complements the riff well, before the
track slows down and kind of fades, creeping out of the room as if no
one has noticed......
The final track, 'All Rights Reserved' is backed up with a
fantastic bass line and lyrically sounds like a tirade against record
companies, presumably the band have had problems before with
recognition, acceptance etc. Again this track is finished just as its
getting along nicely with itself, finishing rather abruptly.
All in all, this is a very strong record, and pleasingly heavier than I
expected it to be. I'd be interested to hear some of the bands
other work, even though I'm not a massive fan of melodic metal!
Review
by: Dan Armstrong
|
