Album review: Bloodbound “Creatures of the Dark Realm”
Sweden’s Bloodbound is back with a new album filled with catchy, melodic and bombastic power metal.
Bloodbound is a band that over a number of albums has combined its music with a lyrical and visual fantasy theme. It is a power metal thing and it works. The overall package is entertaining. It only falls down when certain acts put more emphasis on the image than the music. That is not the case here. On the new album, which follows 2019’s “Rise of the Dragon Empire”, Bloodbound continues to supply us with stories about powerful creatures, battles and wars between good and evil and much more. The band’s name and some of its visuals are a tad bit darker and dangerous than the catchy music. The tracks “Face of Evil” and “When Fate Is Calling” are two of the highlights for me. The songs are pure power metal: catchy tunes, plenty of energy, guitar wankery and a lot of keyboards. The album’s title track is also among the best songs with its hit potential. “Kill or Be Killed” is a future live anthem. “Eyes Come Alive” kicks off almost like a Judas Priest-style song before moving into a more standard sing-along power metal chorus. The subsequent verses continue in a Priest style resulting in a contrasting back-and-forth structure which makes this the most interesting track on the album. Refreshingly, there are no ballads on this album. This is a high-energy power metal album with plenty of hooks. Formed in Sweden in 2004, Bloodbound debuted in 2005 with “Nosferatu”. Co-founders Fredrik Bergh (keyboards) and Tomas Olsson (guitar) still lead the band from the front. Vocalist Patrik Selleby has been in the band since 2010 and his voice is a perfect fit for the band’s music. Bombastic is the word. Either you dig power metal or you don’t. If you do, Bloodbound is up there with the genre’s best acts. In 2019, Bloodbound toured Japan for the first and, so far, only time. Hopefully, we will get to see them on stage here in Japan again soon now that they have even more songs for us to shout-along to.
Bloodbound’s new album “Creatures of the Dark Realm” will be released on 28th May via AFM Records.
