By Jonny Bakes
Sometimes you find yourself jumping on the bandwagon at just the right time to see a band go from picking up small supporting roles to hitting their stride and making a big name for themselves. I always remember my dad having stories about managing to be there at the right time to see the likes of Black Sabbath and Diamond Head go from the obscure to the world-renowned but never considered that one day I could say something similar. But yet, here I am with a hot-off-the-press copy of ‘Creatures of the Dark Realm’ from Swedish power metallers Bloodbound and I can tell that story!
Bloodbound first cemented themselves in my memory with 2012s ‘In the Name of Metal’ with its self-aware metal worshipping style that really appealed to me at the time. Let’s face it, there’s nothing quite like power metal songs about… well… metal! This then developed into a bit of a following until in 2016 I was able to see them open the show for Sabaton and Alestorm on their tour (for which I went to three dates!). Even back then, they were showing that they had the potential to challenge the modern power metal greats – but they just weren’t there at the time. Five years later though, ‘Creatures of the Dark Realm’ is here to show that they have come a long way from ‘Nosferatu’ even though the title track remains a fan favourite. But perhaps most importantly they show that they deserve to be considered alongside those bands at the top of the power metal game.
‘Creatures of the Dark Realm’ is a real feast of sing-along stadium anthems packed full of melodic guitars and harmonised solos, relentlessly fast rhythms and passionate wailing vocals. You’ll find yourself inadvertently doing the “sweep and grab” pretty frequently and there’s no way you can avoid a bit of toe-tapping or headbanging too! It’s no secret that I love a bit of power metal, so it was always likely that this was going to tickle my testicles. But taking that to one side, this really is a great example of power metal, it’s just seriously fun to listen to while not being overly cheesy in its delivery (which is the common complaint about the genre).
Title track, ‘Creatures of the Dark Realm’, dropped about a month ago and quickly found its way into my regular plays. So, it was great to see that this is the first song that storms through the gate and Spartan kicks you in the face, after a gentle instrumental introduction track of course. If this doesn’t grab your attention and keep you hooked to see through the whole album, then I’m not sure what would! The chorus is absolutely typical of a stadium-filling sing along that is bound to be one hell of an experience when the creatures are released to tour the world once more and the heavy use of synth gives that extra, slightly symphonic, element which results in something that certainly stuck with me for a long time!
The track that stood out to me the most is nestled firmly in the middle of the album; the delightful titled ‘Death Will Lead the Way’. This is another song that has nailed the melody in just the right way to make it catchy as fuck and really invoked a seriosu amount of energy in me, which was the perfect thing to cut through the whisky hangover! There’s something about the general rhythm and tempo of the album that, while heavily used in the genre, creates something that is infectious. Before I’d even realised what was happening, I’d been merrily air drumming along to the killer beats laid down by Daniel Sjögren for a good while! But for those of you that aren’t afflicted with the curse of being a drummer, what will really stand out to you is the fantastic voice of Patrik J. Selleby who is still just as impressive with his high vocal range and passionate wails, particularly the one that slips into the background just before the big key change (hey, it’s power metal, it’s all about the key change!).
Overall, ‘Creatures of the Dark Realm’ absolutely bursts into the limelight and makes it clear that Bloodbound are a band who are continuing to challenge the power metal podium! For fans of Sabaton, Powerwolf, Beast in Black, Freedom Call… the list could go on forever. Basically, if you love power metal, then listen to ‘Creatures of the Dark Realm’ right now… or at least as soon as it’s released! Then once you’ve done that, work your way through the rest of the Bloodbound catalogue for good measure and headbang your way well into next week.
- ‘Creatures of the Dark Realm’ is released on 28 May. You can get your copy HERE.
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