ALBUM REVIEW: Tales From The North – Bloodbound
Across every known religion, the faith of the Nordics – and subsequently, the Vikings that followed it – may well be the most metal. The stories of legend regarding Thor, Odin and the rest of the gods are still talked about today, while the mortals who came from those lands that would raze and pillage villages with little fear, drink their weight in ale and seek solace in their journey to Valhalla after they passed are just as conversed. Gävleborg’s BLOODBOUND, who have spent the best part of two decades delighting with their power metal, have delved into this history for tenth album Tales From The North, which is out now via AFM Records.
The album sways between the mythological and the historic as the 11 songs come and go, but the constant is the band’s soaring power metal, with huge choruses and dynamic solos from the brothers Olsson, namely founding member Tomas and his younger sibling Henrik. The opening title track starts in quiet fashion with acoustic guitars and flutes/pipes before exploding into a song that would make DRAGONFORCE sit up and think “Damn, we’ve got serious competition!“.
Discussing the overall concept of the Norse mythology, it set things up nicely; other tracks that highlight the stories from texts that originate from the 13th century include Between The Enemy Lines, which discusses the bizarre wager between Hrungnir and Odin over whose horse is faster (before the former’s subsequent demise to Thor in battle) and Mimir’s Crystal Eye, referring to the possible nephew of Odin whose severed head was carried around by the latter and offered him counsel and secret knowledge. On the subject of the Almighty, Odin’s Prayer begins to blur the lines between the gods and the mortals, a cry out for success as the Vikings sail to new lands; Drink With The Gods does the same, incorporating a power metal style more in line with BATTLE BEAST and TURISAS as BLOODBOUND recite tales of merriment with deities following successful battles.
Then, there are the songs which are firmly more about the Vikings than the figures they believed in. Land Of Heroes shows pride in Sweden itself and in particular the northern regions which are often covered in snow and wintery days all year round. Sword And Axe is a galloping number and talks about the conquests of Vikings in different territories and lands, although even the cheesiest of power metal bands would cringe at the lyric “meet my friends sword and axe” in the chorus, showing you can indeed go too far with the genre.
Closing the album is 1066, the final stand of the Vikings as they sailed to England and met the army of King Harold at Stamford Bridge, suffering their end at the hand of the king before his imminent death back south to William at Hastings. Unlike some power metal albums though, this is no ballad lamenting the passing of a great race; it’s an upbeat, rousing coda that praises the Vikings and how their spirit lives on in their descendants.
As far as concept albums go, this is one of the looser examples and if you’re not a power metal fan you won’t like this particularly, but BLOODBOUND are proving that they can still produce the goods even 20 years after their formation. Those who like SABATON or even the gruffer tones of AMON AMARTH will find a lot of love in Tales From The North.
Rating: 7/10
Tales From The North is out now via AFM Records.
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