I’ll admit I’d not heard of Bloodbound until I saw them a few years back on the bill at ProgPower USA. I came away very impressed with their live performance, and subsequently devoured their back catalogue of material which is, in all honesty, is a mixed bag. Bloodbound have had some great albums – and then some so-so albums. Their newest release is entitled “Creatures of the Dark Realm”, and follows on their two previous offerings – “War of Dragons” from 2017 and “Rise of the Dragon Empire” in 2019. The band’s infatuation with dragon imagery apparently sated, “Creatures of the Dark Realm” features lyrical themes spanning the gamut of the demonic, fallen, and ostracized.
To back up and give more context for this review, especially for those like me who weren’t familiar with the band: Bloodbound are a Swedish heavy/power metal act. They employ a standard twin guitar attack melded with keyboards that aren’t at all hidden in the mix. The vocals are in a clean rock style augmented by the high end wails that are a hallmark of the power metal genre. While certainly not clones of these bands, if you’re familiar with the sound of artists such as Iron Savior, Hammerfall, or Battle Beast you’ll have a good general idea of what Bloodbound are trying to accomplish musically.
Their new album “Creatures of the Dark Realm” is well worth a listen, although I have a few faults to address. We’ll start with the good stuff: the title track is a total banger and very memorable! Tight, fast-paced riffs and keyboard-drenched melodies. If you don’t like this one, you just don’t appreciate power metal and I cannot be your friend. “When Fate Is Glory” opens up pretty well with a powerful and catchy riff that transitions into a solid mid-tempo anthem. “March Into War” is a particularly strong, anthemic track - varied in the vocal approach that leads to a big, booming chorus that delivers. Shades of Sabaton on this one. “Eyes Come Alive” has a very dynamic intro with singer Patrick Selleby ratcheting his vocal attach up a notch before falling back into a choral approach on the choruses. Still probably the most aggressive track, catchy, and one I really enjoyed. The lead breaks are all spot on, helping lead the song to culmination while never detracting from the pace or feel.
There are some areas on the album where the clean vocals could have used a bit more harshness, particularly on “The Gargoyles Gate” which was for me a bit too airy in the verse and sing-songy in the chorus. This was probably my least fav track on the album. Similarly, while the song “Face of Evil” had a very good melody it never seemed to deliver any punches. A general critique I would have of this album is that Bloodbound rely too much on the choruses to carry the songs without putting as much effort into building creative structures and tempos to fill the space between. It’s not that there’s anything wrong here: there are no skippable tracks on the album, which is saying something. I just wish among the memorable choruses and decent riffs there were more surprises and perhaps some elements that were challenging or even threatening.
A lot of Bloodbound’s sound is cliché metal, but they execute it in a good, positive way. And perhaps that’s my ultimate appraisal – that Bloodbound adhere exceptionally well to their chosen genre without taking many risks musically.
But, ultimately these critiques are mere nitpicking on my part. Bloodbound’s music is heads-and-shoulders more metal than 90% of the vapid, fluff marketed as ‘metal’ in the USA. I give this album a solid 8 ½ out of ten… It is good – it is metal – buy this! Listen to Bloodbound’s whole back discography and prepare to be entertained by a band that is good at writing and recording power metal. It is my hope that Bloodbound and other European bands in their vein may contribute to bringing the power metal genre to a new generation of prospective fans.