Saturday, June 4, 2016

Blodspor - Only Sheep Cry Wolf (2016)

Norwegian black/deathers Blodspor have changed an awful lot since their 2011 release, Laughing Through The Violence. Either that, or I really have a distaste for black and death metal being mixed in with core breakdowns and gut punch vocal emissions. Yeah, you heard me right folks, even though guitarists Bent and Kris tear it up along with drummer Lage, frontman Audun (also plays in Silence The Sky – three words, there you go) really seems to defecate all over the approach with his hardcore gut punch vocals that sound a lot like Agnostic Front, of which I could never get into for that reason. Sometimes he does use a bit of a rasp or something a bit deeper (that could also be coming from bassist Andreas) but the overall effect remains the same and I know some people that are absolutely going to loathe this band in every sense of the word. It's not that these guys aren't any good musically, they're just going for something a bit more core-influenced and that can make or break them. They certainly have a marketable quality among core fans and I admittedly liked “By Your Own Fire You Shall Burn” quite a bit, but I wouldn't never openly admit that to you. Whoops, I just did. The record is actually quite heavy all things considered and offers a pretty significant beating, but it's a definite “try before you buy.” There are probably a few reviewers out there who will say much worse about these guys and whatever full-length record they will eventually create in the coming months, but I'll be a bit more lenient as this could be far worse. It sounds a bit biased and perhaps it is, but the fact that one of the tracks came off a little more than just listenable means that perhaps these guys are worth a listen after all. It's just not something that every metal listener will enjoy and should appeal more to fans of core that don't mind the extremities of black and death metal.

(4 Tracks, 12:00)

5/10

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