July 2023 - Feature Release - The Horde Edition

Another month flies by, which means it's time to select a new feature release for The Horde. As it's my turn to choose, I decided to try to find a decent release that none of the regular Academy attendees have rated yet (including myself). That turned out to be more difficult than I thought it might be, but after pressing play on this EP, I knew I'd found my target. There's nothing fresh or innovative here, but Bloodbath know how to create well produced, hard-hitting old school death metal. Given how busy everyone seems to be with life at the moment, the fact that it's only 15 minutes in length is just a bonus. Enjoy!

It would be great to read what you all think of it either below or in review format.

https://metal.academy/releases/4967

This short E.P. can categorically be labelled as being "my cup of tea" & is one of Bloodbath's best releases in my opinion.  "Unblessing The Purity" very much represents a tribute to the great death metal releases of the 1990's, only it's put together in a more modern way. The production & performances are outstanding, particularly those of front man Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) & drummer Martin Axenrot (Opeth/Nifelheim/Witchery). Bloodbath are more commonly associated with the classic Swedish death metal sound of Grave, Entombed & Dismember but this four-track release sees them traversing territories that are much closer to Vader, Behemoth & particularly Morbid Angel with Åkerfeldt sounding a fair bit like "Blessed Are The Sick"-era Dave Vincent which is a big plus in my books. I absolutely love the stunning blast-beat sections! "Unblessing The Purity" is an undeniably high quality death metal release that should satisfy any fan of the genre.

4/5

I have seen Bloodbath's name bandied about all over the place and assumed them to be some kind of death metal supergroup - a concept I have always hated (Shrinebuilder anyone) due to it being more about who is in the band than what they play and the compromises to enormous egos (Travelling Wilburys)? Well, they are a supergroup I suppose, with Mikael Åkerfeldt and Martin Axenrot from Opeth, Katatonia's Anders Nyström and Jonas Renkse along with ex-Katatonia and Ghost guitarist Per Eriksson they couldn't really be considered as anything else. That is all quite simply irrelevant as far as this four-track ep is concerned because it is an absolutely brilliant fifteen minutes of super-tight death metal.

I haven't heard anything else from Bloodbath, but gather that they (unsurprisingly I suppose, given the fact that they are Swedish) lean more towards the Swedish sound of death metal, which isn't completely my cup of tea I must admit. This seems far more rooted in conventional death metal and in particular it sounds a lot like the Polish death metal of Behemoth and Vader which is a sound I have been a fan of for quite some time now. These four tracks exhibit a much tighter sound than I have become used to from the Swedish bands and which always seems to be a feature of Polish death metal. Mikael Åkerfeldt's vocals in particular sound a lot like Vader frontman Piotr Wiwczarek. It may be brief, but it certainly is effective - a case of it came, it saw and it kicked everyone's ass! Now, where's my copy of Black to the Blind?

4/5

I don't recall hearing a bad release by Bloodbath to date and Unblessing the Purity keeps this consistency going nicely. It is a nice break from the more traditional Swedish sound you would associate with the band and shows the bands versatility well.  If there was ever any doubt in anyone's mind around the ability of the reknowned artist that comprised the band at this time then this EP would immediately dispel them.  I note the references to Polish death metal which is not one of my preferred styles of death metal with me having very little time for Vader in all honesty.  However, there is a real bite to the riffing on this release that is so superbly tied into the percussion and vocal delivery that I find it exceeds those relevant comparisons pretty quickly.

This is Åkerfeldt at his very best for me.  No clean singing and throaty as that wolf in the main part of the great album artwork probably would be.  The guitar work, as well as being rhythmically superb, also generates fantastic atmosphere on tracks such as album opener Blasting the Virginborn.  Those urgent and stabbing riff sections really driving the tension of the track.  With its huge sound and tight performances, Unblessing the Purity is probably as perfect a 15 minute blast of raging death metal that you could ask for.

4/5