ALBUM REVIEW: Blood In The Water – Flotsam and Jetsam

For some, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM are merely a footnote in thrash metal history, being the band that Jason Newstead left in 1986 to join METALLICA in place of Cliff Burton. To take this view, however, does the Arizona veterans a huge disservice. In the face of numerous lineup changes, vocalist Eric ‘A.K.’ Knutson has continued to keep the band afloat and this month sees the band release their 14th studio album Blood in the Water via AFM Records. Again, there is new personnel, Bill Bodily replacing Michael Spencer on bass who departs for the second time.

Despite the constant overshadowing from their peers – the words ‘Big’ and ‘Four’ spring to mind – FLOTSAM AND JETSAM are in no way resting on their laurels in pursuit of finally having their day in the sun. Their previous effort, 2019’s The End of Chaos, was a solid effort, if slightly below par. Here, though, the band are very much back to their best. The opening title track roars out of the speakers with an unmitigated force, the guitar work from Steve Conley and Michael Gilbert exemplary as it shifts from all-out shredding to classic, NWOBHM hooks in the chorus.

Brace for Impact has a huge leaning towards latter day ANTHRAX and their era fronted by John Bush without ever sounding stale and, although they naturally have a sound more towards the ‘classic’ era of bands from thirty-five years ago, Burn The Sky invokes the likes of AVENGED SEVENFOLD and early KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. The strongest point, however, is the riffs – if a song has an excellent lead hook it can elevate said tune to another level, and Conley and Gilbert are human machines when it comes to this discipline; they’re all over the record and none sound half-arsed.

Additionally, for a man who has spent the last four decades screaming his heart out, Knutson‘s voice is in incredibly good shape. There is still so much heart and power in his vocals and that helps power Blood In The Water through just as much as the musicality behind it; he even delivers in a manner not too dissimilar to the great Ronnie James Dio at points. A special mention must also go out to the production, which that band have done themselves. There is a crispness about it that adds just that extra layer of bite from beginning to end and the levels are excellent; you can pinpoint every single instrument with ease and take in all the different levels. A small criticism is the 54-minute length – it could have probably done with being a couple of songs shorter – but that’s nitpicking at its finest given what the record dlivers on.

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM have no need to reinvent themselves at this point in their career, and when Blood in the Water is equivalent to turning up to a gun fight with an armoured tank, that decision continues to be justified. They might not play at the breakneck speed they once did but they still know how to make someone want nothing more than to throw on a battle jacket and hurl a fist into the air.

Rating: 8/10

Blood In The Water is out now via AFM Records. 

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