ALBUM REVIEW: Your Highness – Bloodred Hourglass
Finnish six-piece BLOODRED HOURGLASS are already a big deal in their native country but have yet to break out internationally. They’re a chart-bothering act at home, but overseas have mostly been limited to support slots and second stages. With a bit of luck though, Your Highness will be the album to change that. Their fifth full-length is a barnstormer; a spirited and well-executed romp that manages to be surprisingly moving too.
The band deal in the type of death metal that once made Gothenburg the centre of the universe, and the influence of IN FLAMES is especially strong. But where Anders Fridén and his merry band of axe-slingers have gradually distanced themselves from the style that made them famous, BLOODRED HOURGLASS embrace it with arms wide open. There are catchy choruses, big bouncy melodic passages and nicely intricate guitar riffs. The likes of Kings & Queens and Gone For Now are natural successors to Trigger and Cloud Connected and they’re very easy to like.
That said, BLOODRED HOURGLASS are not mere imitators. There’s only a sparse use of clean vocals, and no keyboards to speak of. The themes of loss and regret are handled remarkably well too, even when the lyrics are unintelligible. Opener Leaves for example manages to convey a tremendous amount of emotion through a combination of haunting riffs and Jarkko Koukonen’s tortured cries. Making out the precise words is difficult, but it’ll still get you thinking of lost friends and opportunities you never took. The excellent Drag Me The Rain is similarly evocative, the kind of song that can get people charging into the pit one minute, only to send them reeling with a bittersweet melody the next.
Nightmares Are Dreams Too meanwhile may have a title that suggests stoned students spouting philosophy at 2am, but its frenetic energy and massive hooks make it hugely enjoyable. Then there’s Leave Out All The Rest and Veritas, which are tailormade for getting large crowds bouncing in unison. These are adrenaline-pumping anthems and would be considered classics if they’d come out in 2003.
It’s on Until We Meet Again though that BLOODRED HOURGLASS reach their peak. This closing track is a textbook example of the highs that melodic death metal can reach. Over the course of seven minutes, it goes from an acoustic intro to a crushing mosh call, to a galloping IRON MAIDEN-esque guitar sequence and another hugely emotive finale. It’s a remarkable way to round things off, an ambitious and inventive track and the sound of a band hitting their stride in the best way.
Everything is in place for BLOODRED HOURGLASS to become stars, and if there’s any justice their name will be appearing higher on festival posters thanks to this album. If your world was rocked by Clayman, Slaughter Of The Soul and Natural Born Chaos, this is a must-listen. Put simply, Your Highness is great.
Rating: 8/10
Your Highness is set for release on October 22nd via Out Of Line Music.
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