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BLOODSOAKED
Religious Apocalypse

Comatose Music (2014)
Rating: 7/10

North Carolina-based death metal merchants Bloodsoaked have returned with their first release since 2011. A lot of things can change in three years, but founding member and sole survivor Peter Hasselbrack is still content to plough on with his unrelenting brand of American death metal by way of this brand spanking new nine-track affair.

The only negative aspect of this, however, is that the platter only contains three new tracks; the rest is made up of four live tracks and a brace of peculiar covers that you wouldn’t expect from an extreme metal band – Ratt’s ‘You’re In Love’ and Cinderella’s ‘Shake Me’. Hey, some will appreciate the novelty, but others may have wished for more new songs.

But anyway, let’s get to the nitty-gritty of Bloodsoaked. They were formed in 2006 as a studio act until Hasselbrack was approached to play several gigs. Aided by an iPod which provided the drum tracks, Hasselbrack was able to tour the world and release a clutch of notable recordings; 2007’s Brutally Butchered debut, 2009’s Sadistic Deeds… Grotesque Memories, and 2011’s The Death Of Hope.

So, let us look at the new tracks from Religious Apocalypse. First up we have ‘Devouring’, which is expectedly a hard ’n’ heavy affair that features a machine-gun drum barrage and some of the most devastating riffs I’ve heard for a while. Indeed, Hasselbrack may not be known for his flights of fancy within the death metal realm – preferring a no frills sort of assault ’n’ battery on the senses – but when death metal is this tight and belligerent, it’s difficult not to take note. Hasselbrack’s vocals are a harsh, hoarse grunt of brutality enshrouded by some pummelling slower passages and then those face-ripping slabs of sonic torment in the faster, clinical sections.

‘Abomination’ also hurts to the core as it slowly crawls into the ear-space before the blitzkrieg of churning riffs and percussive angst. It’s probably the catchiest of the three new tracks, featuring some distressing mid-tempo arrangements, while the title track is far less forgiving. Mind you, ‘Religious Apocalypse’ does begin almost identically to ‘Abomination’ as a slow, pensive grate before the obliteration of the gallop injects.

The two cover versions are intriguing to say the least. After all, how many death metal bands would have the guts to cover glam metal songs? ‘Shake Me’ starts with a kickin’ drum and then a cool sassy riff, but the huge issue here is the fact that in spite of the humorous quality of the tracks, both cover versions completely alter the sound of Bloodsoaked. This would suggest of course that Hasselbrack has made two blazing errors here when he could have written two more brain-stomping death metal brain-squashers instead. ‘Shake Me’ just doesn’t work and neither does ‘You’re In Love’, although of the two this is the less awkward sounding. And as for the live cuts, ‘Grinding Your Guts’ is the only track to be plucked from the debut platter and it’s probably the best of the live batch, although ‘No God’, ‘Infestation’ and ‘ Suicide’ do exactly what you’d expect as straight-up death metal head-crushers.

I don’t think Bloodsoaked’s latest offering is an essential chunk to bite into, but for curious fans eager for a few live snippets and that trio of new tracks, this should be ideal.

Neil Arnold

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