Bloodbath is back with a new album.
Created in 1998 in Sweden, the band composed of Jonas Renkse (bass, Katatonia, ex-October Tide), Anders Nyström (guitar, Katatonia, ex-Diabolical Masquerade), Martin « Axe » Axenrot (drums, ex-Nifelheim, ex-Opeth, ex-Witchery), Nick Holmes (vocals, Paradise Lost) and Tomas Åkvik (guitar, Lik) brings Death Metal to life. In 2022, the band signs with Napalm Records and announced the release of Survival of the Sickest.
The album opens with Zombie Inferno, the first track revealed by the band, which confirms both their greasy Swedish influences, but also their raw striking force. Frantic riffs coupled with massive vocal parts are extremely effective and they anchor the band in these gory tones before Putrefying Corpse, the next track where the musicians welcome Barney Greenway (Napalm Death) to add a more straightforward touch to their Grindcore-tinged Death Metal comes. Dead Parade, the next composition, returns in a more imposing and heavy approach of their sound, which does not hesitate to play on murderous accelerations to rhythm dissonant riffs which will explode with the fast Malignant Maggot Therapy. Sharp leads and energetic patterns follow one another to make this track an effective one while letting more technical influences ignite the riffs, then Carved takes over with a putrid and catchy groove. The very massive rhythmic will slow down for a wild solo before welcoming Luc Lemay (Gorguts), but the track is quite short and Born Infernal starts right after, still with the Canadian singer. The alliance of the two voices gives this very solid track an extra aggressiveness before To Die comes to crush us. Marc Grewe (Insidious Disease, ex-Morgoth) joins the band for some raw vocal parts, revealing some very Old School tones. An ominous slowdown is also heard before rage resurfaces, and then Affliction of Extinction returns in that greasy Swedish mix. The jerky patterns meet the dark, dissonant melodies, which continue to plague Tales of Melting Flesh and its energetic mix. The track takes the band back to their most unhealthy and bloody roots while choking us with heavy melodies which drive us right into Environcide which starts off with a bang while crushing us with a massive blast. Jerky riffs will finally give way to an anguishing final filled with sharp harmonics, then a cold wind guides us to No God Before Me, the last track, which will take care to provide us with a thick, slow and suffocating sound, which also offers choirs to reinforce this unhealthy and mystical side.
Bloodbath embodies Death Metal in every way. Aggressive, dissonant, raw, but sometimes more melodic and heavy, the band makes Survival Of The Sickest a future classic of the genre without allowing us a single moment of respite.
95/100