I’m accustomed to reading ridiculous hyperbole as albums are presented for our attention and hopefully enjoyment, but to suggest that the concurrence of choosing the name Written in Blood and the coronavirus pandemic kicking off is some sort of coincidence is right up there. What was of more interest was the band’s connection with God Dethroned, the long-standing Dutch death metal band, a couple of whose albums sit in my collection, and the stated goal, which is “to write recognizable songs with melody rather than having the focus on astronomic speeds”.
Well, there’s no doubting the heaviness, nor the melody and hard riffage behind it. What struck me straightaway was the clear-mindedness of the structure, the intent of movement and drama. The title song follows the opener “Slithering Snakes” and is as deep and dark and can be. Imaginary dark clouds surround the heavy juggernaut which fills most of the space. The vocals are suitably growly but it’s the thunderous drumming in particular which caught my attention. The songs do follow a hard and heavy pattern, with the odd sample thrown in. Any air of mystery, such as we get at the start of “Wilde Jacht”, is taken over by the penetrative death metal at which Written in Blood excel. Fire and melody sweep across the landscape. Drums hammer, guitars growl and flail, no mercy is shown. No more is this true than the marching, rumbling and advancing “Thrown into the Bog”. Sparks fly and the guitar strikes up an evil-sounding air. The evil is maintained in a rare mysterious passage during “Witte Wieven”, otherwise the dominating force is the same. The sound was familiar and I reached the conclusion in my mind that this was like listening to a Dutch version of Amon Amarth. The pounding “Heathens We Are” reinforced this view. I like the way that Written in Blood step up the pace and slow it down before resuming the relentless assault. The chunky “Return of the Ancient Gods” tells us nothing new, but it is no less impressive thanks to its customary heavy power. Bludgeoned we may be, but the atmosphere is imposing. That’s the first three minutes and thirty seconds, but wait …. Surely we haven’t got one of those secret tracks? I had refrained from noting that this album had the feel of a solid death metal romp from the 00s, which it does but with excellent sound quality, but the return to the secret track clinched it. What’s the point? The album doesn’t need it. You wouldn’t do it in a live concert. I went to check the football scores while waiting for something to happen. Six or seven minutes later there were the sounds of evil forces in stormy weather. Not worth waiting for, frankly.
Leaving aside the last 7 minutes, it will come as no surprise that this self-titled album shared many of the same good qualities as God Dethroned: hard-hitting, deathly but melodic and uncompromising. The songs are well structured and the technical execution matches the tight intensity of the sound. I guess the samples were there to enhance atmosphere, and add a dimension but they didn’t do that. Far better were the changes of tempo and occasional sortie into the land of evil and mystery. That doesn’t happen so often, which opens up the potential accusation that this is one-dimensional, but the strength of the songs saves the day, and I have no doubt that with the right setting and sound, Written in Blood would be capable of a dynamic and memorable live performance.
(7.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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