ALBUM REVIEW: The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn – Bloodbath
Formed in 1998 by a group of already established musicians – including Mikael Åkerfeldt of OPETH, KATATONIA’s Anders Nyström and Jonas Renske, and Dan Swano of EDGE OF SANITY – with the intention of celebrating a shared love of old-school death metal, BLOODBATH have had a remarkably strong career for a supergroup. The band have undergone a series of line-up changes – most notably with the brief addition of Peter Tägtgren of HYPOCRISY, who performed on BLOODBATH’s landmark record Nightmares Made Flesh. However, with a stable line-up including Nick Holmes of PARADISE LOST on vocals, BLOODBATH are back with one of their strongest offerings to date; The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn.
A supergroup to being able to work around conflicting schedules and maintain a career spanning two decades is impressive enough. But BLOODBATH is a testament to both the work ethic of the musicians involved, and the sheer passion of the music. Since releasing their debut, Resurrection Through Carnage, in 2002, the band have managed to maintain a release schedule that is impressively regular, all things considered, while still playing live on occasion and maintaining their commitments to their main bands. Given the business of their individual schedules, it stands to reason that a new BLOODBATH album is a passion project, and as such will be of a typically incredible quality – a fact reflected in their discography as a whole. And The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn is no exception.
Lyrically, BLOODBATH are on top of their game with The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn. Part of the celebration of the old-school style of death metal BLOODBATH has embarked on throughout their career has been to remain true to the lyrical nastiness the genre’s early days – gore-ridden, rotten, and taken straight from a horror movie. This is clearly seen in the lyric sheet for opening track Fleischmann, lead single Bloodicide and the ferocious closer Chainsaw Lullaby. But we also see the darker, more poetic side in BLOODBATH’s lyrics come to the forefront as well. Deader and March Of The Crucifers channel incredibly dark, yet inspiring imagery in the poetry on display, while the excellent Wayward Samaritan masterfully mixes the two lyrical styles.
The most striking aspect of The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn is just how blackened this sounds. A black metal touch should come as no surprise to fans of the band – particularly given their last record, 2014’s Grand Morbid Funeral. But this takes that frostbitten, blackened ferocity to a whole new level. From the grandiose black metal flourishes of Only The Dead Survive and Wayward Samaritan to the blackened death-doom stomp of Morbid Antichrist and the full blown, church incinerating chorus of Deader, BLOODBATH’s affinity to the most kvlt of metal’s sub-genres has never been stronger.
However, BLOODBATH still remain true to the style they were originally inspired by, and for those wanting a more traditional, filthy death metal sound there is plenty to dig into here. The guitar tone throughout The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn is as buzzsaw as it gets, bringing a raw edge to the riffing that is almost as guttural as Holmes’ vocals. You could be forgiven for thinking Bloodicide or Chainsaw Lullaby are deep cuts from an early DISMEMBER or GRAVE record – both tracks channel everything that is loved about that traditional Swedish death metal style, from the raw, grinding riffs to the slight undertones of melody in the lead work. All the while, Levitator delivers a crushingly oppressive, death-doom slog.
Despite being a supergroup, a form of band that can be hit or miss at best, history has shown us, BLOODBATH have been a favourite among death metal fans since their inception. Though their brand of old-school, distinctly Swedish sounding death metal has been the subject of much acclaim over their career, a common area of contention for the band is that there was never anything fresh with BLOODBATH – it was old-school death metal worship; done very well, but still lacking in anything innovative or refreshing. With The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn, BLOODBATH have taken that complaint and thoroughly rammed it through a wood-chipper. The band have flirted with black metal in the past, but here we see the band offer up a raw blend of styles that remains true to the classic BLOODBATH sound while also fully embracing the influence of DISSECTION and WATAIN. Without a doubt, The Arrow Of Satan Is Dawn stands as BLOODBATH’s best offering since Nightmares Made Flesh.
Rating: 9/10
The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn is set for release October 26th via Peaceville Records.
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