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BLOODCROWN
Sound Of Flesh And Bone

Gruesome (2024)
Rating: 7/10

Sweden’s Bloodcrown is a new band on the scene, arriving just two years ago, and with their debut album carve out 11 storming tracks of crisp death metal that is laced with a blackened aggression.

Anyone expecting the rather predictable buzzsaw sound should look elsewhere because Sound Of Flesh And Bone is more emphatic in its approach, especially in the way the guitars twist and flow with such a sneering and cocksure attitude. The vocals match the instrumentation, being arrogant spits combined with drifts into guttural, throaty barks.

If you like extreme metal which veers into melodic territory then you may find much to savour here, especially if you have a thirst for bands like At The Gates. It’s not original, although which band is in such a crowded pit, but there is some interesting fusing of different styles and influences ranging from Morbid Angel to The Crown and to Pantera. In fact, a lot of this kind of metal emerged in the mid-to-late 90s.

There’s no doubt that this album is in your face and strikes hard. ‘Sword Cut’ is an absolute monster with its pummeling drums and confrontational bellows. Much of what is delivered isn’t necessarily hyper fast, but it’s just so aggressive and belligerent that I had to stop for a breather halfway through. The title track is a good example as to how the combo creates such malevolent hits, a flurry of pulverising rhythms and often abrasive dynamics means this is one gargantuan wall of sound.

The Haunted spring to mind on a few songs, again I refer to the title track, and there are sprigs of Entombed too but without the rampant fuzz. ‘Paralysis’ is an absolute whirlwind of a tune, the drums operating at breakneck speed, while on ‘Purge’ there are glimmers of a slower melody entwined with those brutal escapades. ‘Other I’ is probably my favourite track, more so in the way it starts and finishes by way of immense chugging, but the insertion of melody with the slightly less gravelled vocals is a nice touch.

There’s more to this album than just barbaric bashing, as evidence on melodic monstrosity ‘Fire Of Resistance’, but even with its obvious qualities Sound Of Flesh And Bone is still an acquired taste because it is a cacophony I’ve heard so many times before.

Neil Arnold

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