Bloodbath are back, with a big, heavy, evil album that pays homage to old school death metal and horror movies, but still can stand on its own with its well-crafted songs.
What are the highlights of the album? The first track, “Zombie Inferno”, is definitely a great way to kick things off, with its super-fast, adrenaline-raising riffs. It’s like being chased by zombies, the fast and ravenous kind. Nick Holmes’s raspy grunts give the song a 90s death metal feel.
Other songs keep this slightly modern update of 90s death metal feel, and above all, this irresistible energy. A good example of that would be “Malignant Maggot Therapy” and its loud scream and riffs intro, followed by wild riffs whose energy never dims. “Born Infernal” is another speed beast with snarly vocals and a sort of satanic feel. “Taste of Melting Flesh” might be one of the most energetic tracks, with its fast riffs and wild solo. The creepy music box outro is also a nice idea. “Putrefying Corpse” uses an intro in a similar style followed by somewhat slower, but big and menacing riffs, and vocals that alternate between growls and loud scream like some of the very earliest death metal demos from the late 80s, and a wild guitar solo. It ends on some sort of weird guitar and keyboards effect that sort of sounds like a siren howling and like an eerie choir singing, which is also used on the intro of the next track, the sinister and heavy “Dead Parade”. Like on the previous tracks, Nick really showcases his vocal abilities, using raspy growls, lower, beastly ones, evil laughs and screams, but always sounding evil.
“Carved” is somewhere between the other types of tracks described before, having some slow and heavy moments, but also really fast, mean ones, and a memorable, almost catchy chorus consisting of the one-word title, in between some fast-paced verses. “Affliction of Extinction” is also fast but threatening, with evil growls and a catchy chorus of few words. “To Die” is similar but even catchier, with heavy, but relentlessly fast riffs and a memorable chorus of Nick growling and screaming the two-word title, and an ending made of howling guitar effects. So it’s a little mix of all the different elements from the album.
This is one of the highlights, along with the last two, “Environcide” and “No God Before Me”. “Environcide” is mercilessly heavy, with sinister vocals and an equally sinister chorus screaming “Lost, ruined, covered in coal”, before everything ends with the sound of a cold wind. And finally, “No God Before Me” is a proud and defiant track, with sinister and slow, but immediately memorable death metal riff the entire band singing “No God before me!” on the chorus and the end. A pretty good ending for a really good album.
While this album could be a little repetitive, with a few forgettable moments, it was a pretty enjoyable experience overall. Every song has a little something to offer, and above all, there is some real energy and heaviness to this, with some dark and mean riffs. The horror movie inspiration, with all the references to death, zombies, melting flesh and maggots is also a nice touch. I must also mention that it’s an album that tries to pay homage to old school death metal, but it’s the good kind of throwback music: the kind that still has its own personality, and just sounds so good that it doesn’t suffer from comparisons to its predecessors. It’s the best kind of death metal, the type that pumps you up and can horrify and entertain you.
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