Bloodbound – Creatures Of The Dark Realm

Bloodbound
Creatures Of The Dark Realm
AFM Records
May 28, 2021
45:06

Bloodbound released their debut album “Nosferatu” in 2005. The role models like Iron Maiden, Helloween or Judas Priest were clearly audible. “Creatures Of The Dark Realm” is now the ninth studio album. In the meantime, the Swedes have found their own style. The days of the low budget are also over. The creative trio Fredrik Bergh, Tomas Olsson and Patrik Selleby have worked intensively over the past two years and created twelve new songs.

BLOODBOUND has one simple goal going into making “Creatures Of The Dark Realm”: make it better than the album before it. The call was to make sure it had more hooks and stronger melodies, and the results speak for themselves.

Let’s have a listen and see if it’s successful.

A short intro is almost standard in this genre. The Swedes have opted for acoustic guitars here. The thirty-three seconds don’t hurt. But I wouldn’t miss anything either if they hadn’t ended up on the album. But then the guys really get going with “Creatures Of The Dark Realm”. The title song is bursting with pure power. And Patrik Selleby proves once again that he is one of the best singers. The guitars dominate, but also the keyboards can be heard and sound very song-serving. Fredrik Bergh does a good job here. And you can sing along to the chorus very quickly, ideal for live performances. “When Fate Is Calling” is in the same league. The two Olssons on the guitars throw the balls to each other. In sports, you would say it’s blind understanding. Drummer Daniel Sjögren does a great rhythm performance here. And so it goes on lively. At first hymn-like (“Ever Burning Flame”) with a strong bass line (Anders Broman). It gets even faster with “Eyes Come Alive”. The singer sounds much rougher here. Also, on “Death Will Lead The Way” he impressively shows the richness of nuances in his voice. “Gathering Of Souls” and “Kill Or Be Killed” follow with a sabatonic attitude. After the high-speed metal grenade “The Gargoyles Gate” follows a deep bow to their Swedish compatriots. “March Into War” could have come from a time when Sabaton were still warm-up acts for Stratovarius and Hammerfall. (2009, if I remember correctly). The album ends with the two anthemic songs “Face Of Evil” and “The Wicked And The Weak”.

On “Creatures Of The Dark Realm” the Swedes deliver hit after hit. Fans of the bands already mentioned here should get their money’s worth. Sure, there is a lot of Pop/Rock mixed in with the Metal. But the mixture is right. The album is probably the best in the band’s history so far. And it tops its predecessor “Rise Of The Dragon Empire” significantly. A very good basis for future live performances.

BLOODBOUND – March Into War (2021) // Official Lyric Video: https://youtu.be/LdPwc7Ch4eo

Lineup:

Patrik J. Selleby – Vocals
Tomas Olsson – Guitars
Henrik Olsson – Guitars
Anders Broman – Bass
Fredrik Bergh – Keyboards
Daniel Sjögren – Drums

Track list:

• The Creatures Preludium
• Creatures Of The Dark Realm
• When Fate Is Calling
• Ever Burning Flame
• Eyes Come Alive
• Death Will Lead The Way
• Gathering Of Souls
• Kill Or Be Killed
• The Gargoyles Gate
• March Into War
• Face Of Evil
• The Wicked And The Weak