Dutch death metal eh? That used to be quite the thing, once upon a time. Gorefest, for example, almost cracked the mainstream during the late 90’s. Apparently, Bloodphemy formed way back at the turn of the millennia, but disbanded a couple of years later, only to reform in 2015. Sometimes, this can be a really great thing; Evocation is one band that trod a similar kind of trajectory, and I really love them. Are Bloodphemy cut from the same mould?
Well, if nothing else, the album has a theme. Apparently, the story here is that a priest in the 1800’s has started to receive what he believes to be direct communication from the almighty, and slowly becomes convinced that his own family are sinners and may be partially responsible for some eventual armageddon, so he murders them. As you do. Frankly, I’m always a bit of a sucker for a story album, so that premise had me hooked for a start.
As we all know though, a good idea will only get you so far – you need the musical chops to be able to keep up with your ambition. Well, Bloodphemy certainly have the skill to be able to construct some pretty interesting music. In terms of style, this is heavy, bludgeoning death metal that sounds a little like early Hate Eternal meeting Asphyx, having the ferocity and slightly atonal edge of the former, and the knack for a minor-key melody and mid-tempo stomp of the latter. I was also (pleasantly) reminded of early Aborted in terms of the sheer slam of the bass work when the speed slows from hyper-speed to a crawl, as in the deranged stomp of “Flock of Lambs”. There’s also some really tasty axe work too, with memorable riffing and – remember this – actual guitar solos. Yes! Solos – and they really add something to the song. Incredible scenes all round.
This then is an incredibly solid death metal album with one foot in the slightly more avant-garde end of the spectrum, whilst having enough meat-and-potatoes heaviness to not turn off the avowed death fans among you. Certainly, if this was an album being released by a more well known outfit, I wouldn’t expect there to be any complaints from the fans. At eleven songs in length, but not straying any longer than about five minutes per track, this is also an album which is careful not to outstay its welcome. The accompanying PR sheet says that the Dutch five piece is a real live experience – something which it would be great to confirm now that the reins on live performances seem to be loosening a little. A recommendation then? Well, darn it – yes it is. If you’re not a big death metal fan, well then you may struggle a little here, but for the rest of us heretics, there’s plenty to discover here that’s going to whet our whistles. Good stuff.
(8/10 Chris Davison)
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