Bloodbath – The Fathomless Mastery
Peaceville – CDVILEF242P – 6 October 2008
by John Norby
Yes, folks… Bloodbath are back with another lesson in total death metal savagery, and arguably their finest to date. The Fathomless Mastery sees the band honing their craft further, in line with their continued evolution since they began spewing their oldschool blasphemy back in 1999. Of course, most of you don’t need to be told that Bloodbath initially came into being because of a yearning to bring back the oldschool Swedish death metal that devastated the scene back in the day. Add to that the fact that this band consisted of genre luminaries Mikael Åkerfeldt, Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström, Dan Swanö and Jonas Renkse, and you had a Swedish death metal supergroup coming at you full tilt.
While Bloodbath’s sound has developed consistently with each release they retain the oldschool vibe they started out with and still have that guitar tone (you know the one) albeit in a slightly more subliminal sense this time around. The super-slick – although not clinical – production on this album serves to highlight the sheer brutality spewed forth by the Swedes, evident right from the opening seconds of first track ‘At The Behest of Their Death’. It’s one of those hair-standing-on-the-back-of-the-neck moments that commands attention and respect, lest ye be bludgeoned over the head with a 666ft inverted crucifix.
It’s hardly surprising that every track on The Fathomless Mastery is as brutal as hell, but it must be pointed out that it’s also far from a total grinding blastfest, offering thunderous slabs of midtempo chugging and a fair deal of melody (despite rumours that Dan Swanö was ousted for even thinking of upping the melodic content of such a hardened band). Fear not, however, as there are blasts aplenty on The Fathomless Mastery, and a great deal of ‘authentic’ oldschool death metal riffing to boot.
Vocally, Åkerfeldt is on top blasphemous form on this, showcasing his demonic, guttural belches for the duration of the album. As far as musicianship and songwriting go The Fathomless Mastery can’t be faulted. Tight as a gnat’s chuff, as they would say back in the old days. Axenrot is a total animal behind the kit, fluid and nasty, while the dual guitars of Nyström and Eriksson are both violent and sublime. Full on, annihilate everyone, carnage-filled death metal at its sickest. What did you expect from Bloodbath?!
Official Bloodbath Website
Official Bloodbath Myspace
Official Peaceville Website
Peaceville – CDVILEF242P – 6 October 2008
by John Norby
Yes, folks… Bloodbath are back with another lesson in total death metal savagery, and arguably their finest to date. The Fathomless Mastery sees the band honing their craft further, in line with their continued evolution since they began spewing their oldschool blasphemy back in 1999. Of course, most of you don’t need to be told that Bloodbath initially came into being because of a yearning to bring back the oldschool Swedish death metal that devastated the scene back in the day. Add to that the fact that this band consisted of genre luminaries Mikael Åkerfeldt, Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström, Dan Swanö and Jonas Renkse, and you had a Swedish death metal supergroup coming at you full tilt.
While Bloodbath’s sound has developed consistently with each release they retain the oldschool vibe they started out with and still have that guitar tone (you know the one) albeit in a slightly more subliminal sense this time around. The super-slick – although not clinical – production on this album serves to highlight the sheer brutality spewed forth by the Swedes, evident right from the opening seconds of first track ‘At The Behest of Their Death’. It’s one of those hair-standing-on-the-back-of-the-neck moments that commands attention and respect, lest ye be bludgeoned over the head with a 666ft inverted crucifix.
It’s hardly surprising that every track on The Fathomless Mastery is as brutal as hell, but it must be pointed out that it’s also far from a total grinding blastfest, offering thunderous slabs of midtempo chugging and a fair deal of melody (despite rumours that Dan Swanö was ousted for even thinking of upping the melodic content of such a hardened band). Fear not, however, as there are blasts aplenty on The Fathomless Mastery, and a great deal of ‘authentic’ oldschool death metal riffing to boot.
Vocally, Åkerfeldt is on top blasphemous form on this, showcasing his demonic, guttural belches for the duration of the album. As far as musicianship and songwriting go The Fathomless Mastery can’t be faulted. Tight as a gnat’s chuff, as they would say back in the old days. Axenrot is a total animal behind the kit, fluid and nasty, while the dual guitars of Nyström and Eriksson are both violent and sublime. Full on, annihilate everyone, carnage-filled death metal at its sickest. What did you expect from Bloodbath?!
Official Bloodbath Website
Official Bloodbath Myspace
Official Peaceville Website
