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Bloodbath > Unblessing the Purity > Reviews
Bloodbath - Unblessing the Purity

A Showcase of Potential - 88%

EzraBlumenfeld, January 24th, 2018
Written based on this version: 2014, Digital, Peaceville Records (iTunes)

When it comes to straight-up brutality, Bloodbath is a household name among serious metalheads. A sort of death metal supergroup, they are both loved and hated by many metalheads for a variety of reasons. This EP being a combined effort of members from prog-death monsters Opeth and Katatonia, people are often shocked, for better or for worse, when they hear the drastically different brutal style of Bloodbath.

Completely devoid of the sparkling clean guitars and melancholic singing the parent bands are well-loved for, Unblessing the Purity is a monstrous 15-minute voyage not intended for the faint of heart. Mikael Åkerfeldt's classic gutturals perfectly match the speed-picked, down-tuned riffs and skull-crushing blast beats. If the sheer technicality of the EP isn't enough to make you feel a little queasy, then the massive production will be. Every note is perfectly discernible, yet the instruments are mixed in a way that creates an enormous wall of sound that can be a little overwhelming to listen to.

Being an EP, there are only four songs on Unblessing the Purity: "Blasting the Virginborn," "Weak Aside," "Sick Salvation," and "Mouth of Empty Praise." The songs are, for the most part, greatly similar in the fact that they all have a similar structure. Although the songs don't really stand out from each other, they are all great due to the fact that they set a definite mood for the EP and keep it up all the way through. There is no lack of consistency to be found here. My personal favorite of the four songs is "Sick Salvation," which has a great little guitar solo, followed by a throat-ripping high scream and a bassy section where the guitars drop out. But overall, each of the songs is very good, even if they don't stand out when listened to all at once.

I would recommend this EP to any death metal listeners or fans of Bloodbath's better-known full-length albums who have a few bucks to spare. Once you've acquired all the essential death metal records, this is about as good as it gets before you have to look completely underground.

Unblessing the Purity - 80%

dismember_marcin, December 31st, 2016

If you still think of Bloodbath as a lousy side project of some Opeth and Katatonia members, then I think there’s something wrong with your head. This band has proved to be serious and through the years they managed to release some fantastic albums. And it’s music that matters, not who’s in the band and what their priority is. Personally I like “Nightmares Made Flesh” the most, it’s such a crushing slab of old school death metal filth. What distinguished this album from the other Bloodbath releases is that it featured Peter Tägtgren on vocals. Of course I also like “Resurrection Through Carnage” a lot, which on the other hand had Mikael Akerfeldt behind the mic. It’s also damn nasty and tasty album. With Tägtgren on vocals Bloodbath did only one album and right after he left, Akerfeldt returned to the band and “Unblessing the Purity” was recorded in 2007. And damn… I like his vocals a lot. It’s almost like the less he used growls in Opeth, the better he sounded in Bloodbath haha! His performance on this EP, as well as on the following “The Wacken Carnage” is really great, in my opinion, I like the sound of his growls and that the vocals are quite understandable, even if brutal and nasty.

I cannot say anything bad about the production of “Unblessing the Purity”. This EP sounds fantastic, it’s very powerful and crushing, but relatively clean … and every instrument is so damn strong. You will feel how this energy blows the speakers and forces you to skull-bang when “Blasting the Virginborn” blasts off with its fantastic fast opening part. It truly is a neckbreaking song, but it may surprise you with a slightly more progressive sounding mid-part, especially that fantastic guitar lead there.

If you know the previous albums, then you will surely notice that songs from this EP are slightly different. Still deeply placed in the old school death metal roots, but their structures, some ideas and arrangements are not necessarily taken from the plain and simple, straight forward death metal skeleton. “Weak Aside” will be another example of that… but I have to say that I do enjoy this diversity and more original touch to Bloodbath's music. Especially when the music is so damn powerful and fast. When I listen to it, I feel like it’s Grave, but faster and with more diversity than Grave would ever have. There are four songs here and each is just great, the quality is the same all the way through. Definitely one of the best Bloodbath releases.

Standout track: “Blasting the Virginborn”
Final rate: 80/100

Riffs. Growls. Sacrilege. Atmosphere. Fun. - 85%

autothrall, January 13th, 2014

Unblessing the Purity was the first release in a busy year for the Swedish all-star death metal project Bloodbath, which alone would have made up for the four-year hiatus since Nightmares Made Flesh, but I'm happy they didn't just stop here. Four tunes, and a superior short-player to their original Blessed Death EP in both composition and effectiveness, really refining this group's ability to draft a death metal tune with some depth and melody that celebrates the original influences to which they pay homage, without proving too much of a direct ripoff of any of their countrymen/forebears. After hearing this, I was extremely stoked for The Fathomless Mastery, which did not disappoint, and it's yet another reason I actually wish Bloodbath was 'mainlined' by its constituent members, instead of being this project that gets shelved for large periods of time (the current hiatus having lasted around five years). Then again, if they were churning out discs annually or bi-annually, they might not be so good...but they don't seem to have come close to exhausting their riff stores yet.

Anyway, Bloodbath might lack a little in the creative department, and that was the point since inception, but the amount they are called out for it seems quite disproportionate when one considers that their most vocal detractors spend about 50% of their time listen to direct knockoffs of early 90s black/death metal. It's okay to do when you're on some smaller cult label and pulling in audiences of 15 at a gig, but not when you're a member of Opeth or Katatonia! Rrrrriight, and let's not forget, forming in 1998, Bloodbath were already well ahead of the game, in some cases only 5-6 years after the records they were worshiping! Sure, there isn't a lot here that you wouldn't have already heard on a Dismember, Carnage, Hypocrisy, Entombed, Edge of Sanity or Necrophobic record over a decade before this, but Unblessing the Purity doesn't seem so much like recycling as rekindling its beloved influences. You'll immediately notice a more mature structure to the songwriting which doesn't seem like a repeat of Resurrection Through Carnage or Nightmares Made Flesh, with a busier use of melody as an atmospheric ingredient (as in "Weak Aside"). The rhythm guitar tone isn't quite so concentrated on being ripping and raw in the traditional Sunlight fashion, but dialed back a little in the mix, which fits the more intricate picking of a lot of riffs here. I've heard this material described as more 'technical' than the prior albums, and that's not a false statement, but it's not to the degree where they're exploring the clinical/tech-death brutal death metal indulgence...this is very firmly old school death metal, it just doesn't settle for being so simple that it borders on stupid.

Guitars, guitars! Tunes like "Blasting the Virginborn" really capture a lot of versatility, from the unapologetic Krisiun blasting of the opening riff to the death & roll grooves and bluesy but cryptic lead passages, while others like "Sick Salvation" seem like they're just dowsed in an added dimension of constant atmosphere being provided through the reverb on the drums and guitars. There are a lot of chug-to-trill rhythms that are redolent of Cannibal Corpse's cult favorite The Bleeding, and Mikael also seems to channel a little of Napalm Death's direct vocal gruffness in places. Not every riff is a winner, but the majority of them fit together snugly and constantly offer the ear something fresh and potentially unexpected. Renkse's bass lines sound better here than I think I've ever heard them before (at least in this band), with a balanced distortion to them that never seems over the top, but keeps them heavy and grating against the clearer presence of the rhythms. Axenrot sounds fucking unbelievable, especially on a lot of the slower grooves where's he complementing the central rock beat with faster double bass and then seamlessly introducing blasts and breaks. But really, Bloodbath always thrive off their guitars more than anything; both Blakkheim and Dan Swano's replacement Per 'Sodomizer' Eriksson (Katatonia, Genocrush Ferox) deliver constantly thrills.

The ambient touches, like at the close of "Mouth of Empty Praise" with the male chant, are well enough implemented that I'd have enjoyed hearing a lot more of them, and the lyrics, while often minimalistic, are pretty blasphemic as a rule here..."Blasting the Virginborn" calling out Christian falsehoods, and "Mouth of Empty Praise" offering lip service to a number of infernal figures. Almost to the point where it feels like there is a more cohesive concept happening than your usual Bloodbath record, which happens to reflect the cover artwork quite well. It's not perfect, but just fucking great, well-rounded death metal that I enjoy time and time again, like anything else they released after Breeding Death, and if you've been on the fence due to not liking the higher profile bands of several of the members, trust me when I say this is probably much more your style. In fact, I like Bloodbath more than anything Opeth has released since Blackwater Park, and even a number of the Katatonia offerings, so I really do wish they'd put out something more often...even if they don't reach the level of productivity achieved in 2008. Anyway, Unblessing the Purity is killer and just as worth owning as any of the full-length efforts.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

How can something so small weigh so damn much? - 89%

destinedforfailure, November 8th, 2010

Having been MIA from a Bloodbath album since the 2002 release, “Resurrection Through Carnage”, Mikael Åkerfeldt’s vocals are a very welcome addition. Absent are Åkerfeldt’s clean vocals from Opeth. Here, all you’ll find are low, murderous growls like none other. These deep, intense death growls are the most satisfying growls I’ve heard in a long time. Åkerfeldt’s vocals are simply incredible. These could most definitely be the vocals of the devil--which works perfectly, given the anti-Christian lyrics.

The guitars, respectively, are down-tuned tremendously and not at the cost of clarity or tone-quality. The riffs are satisfyingly brutal and heavy. The slower parts get even heavier. Furthermore, with the help of Åkerfeldt’s vocals, the guitars really give life, an evil life, to this EP. They provide this EP with an atmosphere of dread and impending doom lurking somewhere in a dark and apocalyptic future. The vocals add to this atmosphere, but it’s the guitars that create it--and they do a damn good job of it. Unfortunately, the bass is practically non-existent. You can only pick it out if you listen carefully and only because it has a slightly less distorted sound than the guitars. However, this doesn’t matter because, from what I can tell, the bass is merely following the guitars (except for maybe one small segment at the end of Weak Aside).

The drumming is very solid. It doesn’t add much to the overall feel and atmosphere of the EP, nor does it detract from the EP in anyway either. The drumming here is incredibly precise. Even during the blastbeat sections, where Axe begins reaching mach-1 speeds, it doesn’t sound like he is even a tenth of a second off at any point. If anything, more blastbeats (as demonstrated in the song, Blasting the Virginborn) would’ve been greatly appreciated. In addition to his inhumanly accurate drumming, I notice how the cymbals are really incorporated into his drumming. Axe is constantly using all of the different cymbals and never sticks with one cymbal for an extended period of time. The constant use of the cymbals (and variety of cymbals) in the drumming prove to be very effective.

Simply put, this EP is very good. Each song the four songs are riddled with bone-crushingly heavy and brutal riffs and all with a dark and evil feel to them.

Bloodbath - Unblessing the Purity - 80%

callumkcragg, February 25th, 2009

If Bloodbath are new to you and you only know them due to Åkerfeldt's fame in Opeth then Bloodbath may or may not be your cup of tea. Non present here is the progressive/folk stylings that Opeth include into their music, neither are the melodic style guitar lines that can on occasion feature. This is brutal death metal, but it's as tight and precise and any Opeth record. Don't expect to hear Åkerfeldt's trademark clean vocal, here he shows us just how evil and nasty he can sound, almost like the devil himself is recording this record.

The opener Blasting the Virgin Born is absolutely rampant with now Opeth collegue Martin 'Axe' Axenrot displaying perfect drumming technicality and precision with each blast beat, not to mention the slow and sludgy breakdown featuring Nyström and Eriksson showcasing their amazing duel weilding capability with a hefty solo to boot.

The rest of this ep follows suit, blast beats, tremolo style picking, squealing solo's, death grunts and of course gore, guts, satan etc.

In short this is nothing new or original, but it's some damn awesome death metal and beats the shit out of the majority of todays 'Fringecore' death metal bands.

Death Metal - even for the uncertain - 80%

Lisra, October 16th, 2008

I've never been one for Death Metal. Just didn't suit me. I can't see the point in spewing gore lyrics or the often deliberate lack of tonality. This EP however is just long enough. It stops before it grows tedious.

Musically there's talent everywhere. Axe is either putting down blast beats with a frightening precision or playing reasonably complicated fills. Above that lie the twin guitars of Blakkheim and Sodomizer, who both chug, pick and tap as if there was no tomorrow, but are well aware that over doing it would push the music towards pointless wanking. So they stay within reason. Somewhere between the guitars and the drums lurks Jonas Rekse's bass, it doesn't really do anything extraordinary. It is there and provides another layer of thunder but that's it. No fancy bass playing like in Death but that's probably for the better. The guitars are technical enough.

Above everything throne Mikes vocals. Not surprisingly they are brilliant. Deep, guttural and sinister. Not particularly aggressive in the way of a limb crushing beast but more like some lurking danger somewhere in the dark, threatening to come and devour you. You get the picture.

What is left.. ah yes, the lyrics. Gone is the gory nonsense which made bloodbath intolerable before. Call me a wimp but I just don't like songs about mass strangulation and the like. Now it is straight in-your-face anti-Christianity – not the necessarily the sophisticated approach like for example Akercocke use but more like “Blasting The Virginborn” - a candidate for the best track title of the month.

Being very unfamiliar with Death Metal I can't understand a lot of complaints in reviews about this album. Sure the songwriting isn't straight forward and they use some progressive elements (like calmer breaks in two songs, which however always result in a new brutal approach) but they fit together nicely. When the bells at the end of Mouth of Empty Praise fade away I'm sure most people open to extreme metal will think “well that was cool”. And it really was. Not a ground-breaking masterpiece, but fifteen minutes of really good music.

Unblessing The Purity - 86%

orionmetalhead, September 5th, 2008

Bloodbath have unleashed upon our virgin ears a deadly force composed of rotting remains and reanimated souls. There is no doubt in my mind that this is what modern death metal is meant to sound like - crushing, relentless and yet blessed with embalming melodies. Relentlessly Swedish in every way, Unblessing the Purity is demanding of attention. Demanding those who claim death metal has no new gold to pan retract their statements and grab their pick-axes.

The combination of Anders Nystrom and Per Eriksson is awesome. They manage to create some brilliant harmonies and riffs. The album would have benefited from a slightly dirtier, rawer guitar sound however and at times, I am wondering if the Katatonia relation has had an impact on the choice of guitar tone. Martin's drumming is tight and expertly played though, as I normally feel of his work ultimately un-noteworthy. Jonas Renske is soon becoming one of my personal favorite bass players. His rich tone on this album really helps dirty up moments that would sound tame and possibly empty (bass section in Sick Salvation).

Blasting The Virginborn reminds me of Grave mixed with Iniquity-esque tricks and treats. The ghoulish and haunting intermission is somehow more deadly than the fierce main riff. While the main riff leaves a single bullet in your skull, the subtlety of the slow, drowning interlude is more akin to being slowly crippled with disease. Eaten by maggots, you watch your own limbs fester and fall away. Weak Aside is torturous. Hidden amongst the rich tones are staccato bursts of shrapnel. Akerfeldt's vocals leave me wondering why he doesn't do Bloodbath full time instead of Opeth. He is clearly having a good time cleaning out his esophagus and sounds refreshed.

Sick Salvation blasts as well, though it has one condemnation - that being the inclusion of what I would consider a novelty transition halfway into the song. It seems like Bloodbath took the easy way across that particular moment. I would have like to hear something more in line with their abilities. The wicked solos and leads constituting the ending of the track work double time afterwards though. I think that my displeasure for the transition comes from a general annoyance on my part of each song having some segment of a slower melodic moment. Neither of the four songs really crush on straight through. Luckily for Bloodbath, these segments are not ill received as they are expertly written and consistently fluid however that small irksome quality is, nevertheless, there.

Mouth of Empty Praise seals the coffin for me. It may be my love of twisted rhythms in death metal but this song has some twisted fucking shit - like an evacuating centrifugal test-subject forgotten in his cage, gravitational forces crushing his internal structures. The empty chanting and fly buzzing closing the album is one of the more unique outro's an album has divulged in my listening years. I appreciate the mood setting of the outro and find it suits the song as well as the album.

Blood-soaked Savagery! - 100%

YggdrasilinBlight, August 10th, 2008

The legendary Bloodbath are finally back and are more visceral than ever with Mikael Akerfeldt once again participating in the profane carnage, after Peter Tagtren took hold of his own throat for the brutal invasion, “Nightmares Made Flesh” in 2004. The tempo experimentation and technical flairs found on “Unblessing the Purity” are all to keep listeners scratching their scalps until they bleed in anxiousness to what these Swedish death metal lords have to offer them next.


Wasting no time, an immensely booming onslaught starts “Blasting the Virginborn” as the vision of Bloodbath shows in the form of Axenrot’s blastbeats, Nyström and Eriksson’s stunning vortex riffs, Renkse’s gut-thumping bass lines and of course, Akerfeldt’s monstrous and strangling growls. The guitars are a highlight of this attack on religion as they expertly create a sense of oncoming dread found in their melodies and pulverizing and static solos. “Weak Aside” bursts with pyrotechnical riffs from Anders Nyström and Per Eriksson. At almost two-minutes in, a small lapse of ominous and bleak air lures you into a sense of tranquility, only lasting for a few seconds to make the death metal barrage even more crushing. The drums kill here, too as the instruments are steroid injected, taking the speed to much higher levels.


Then, with a very dismal awakening, “Sick Salvation” begins an infestation of brutality with plenty more antichristian lyrics in tow. A voice sample is used to heighten the mood of desperation and ultimate doom here with frantic riffs accompanied by a “blast fest” of drums. Then there’s the last rendition of terror “Mouth of Empty Praise” with a name to suit the cry of scorn. It’s a complete massacre, filthy and destructive, all ending in the false innocence of a church choir to reinforce the (anti)religious theme.


Faster, more technical made with cleaner production and still having a grimy feel and a breath of slimy insect carcasses, “Unblessing the Purity” is the perfect teaser to the bigger and better material Bloodbath will soon cut out of their brains. I didn't even notice it was only 15 and a half minutes long, because there is so much substance here. You’ll find no repetition; just an all out slaughterhouse after four years of cursed silence has produced a new soundtrack to the spilling of blood. This much anticipated four-track EP and newest case of blood-soaked savagery, “Unblessing the Purity” shall cast all into a lake of fire!

They keep getting better! - 85%

Kahn, May 26th, 2008

When they announced earlier this year that Mikael Åkerfeldt was coming back, it was truly a moment of joy for me because I was worried that Bloodbath had broken up after releasing two of the best death metal albums in the new millennium. It almost felt like a crime that such a great band wouldn't be around for at least a decade, but now they are back! Stronger then ever and with material that blows their previous offerings out of the water!

This EP also marks the debut of Per Eriksson on lead guitars, who makes the absence of the godly Dan Swanö seem relatively minor. He is a pretty good guitarist and I can't wait to hear what riffs and solos he creates in his tenure with Bloodbath.

I must mention that this is the most well produced Bloodbath studio recording ever. Everything sounds great, the guitars are raw, the drums have this booming sound, vocals are also high in the mix. Unlike the crunchy/clear production most modern metal bands aim for, Bloodbath goes for the raw/clear production, and this is the production they should stick with for future recordings.

The way the EP begins is fantastic. The beginning seconds of "Blasting the Virginborn" (greatest song title!) feels like a train is charging right at you at the speed of sound, and when Axe blastbeats and Mikael growls "Nazarene, I've come to bestow you this crown of scorn," you experience death metal bliss.

The second song "Weak Aside" has the best solo in the whole EP, although the other guitar solos are also pretty good. There is also a breakdown near the two minute mark, but don't worry! This is not one of those monotonous br00tal metalcore breakdowns, this is a death metal breakdown, which is waaaaaaaaay better. "Sick Salvation" has a cool sample with a dude saying something, although it's a bit hard to discern exactly what he's saying.

It's the closer "Mouth of Empty Praise" which is easily the best song on the EP. The way the song ends suddenly and then goes into a church choir is really fascinating. Oh yeah, Per's first guitar solo just emanates such a feeling of coldness it almost makes you feel like you're walking through the streets of Hell.

There is one drawback however, it feels really short, after all, this a new release after four long years, and all we get is a four-song fifteen-minute EP. But at least we now know that the band is making a new studio album set for release in October, and their DVD "The Wacken Carnage" comes out next week. Great times ahead for fans of probably the best pure death metal band coming from Sweden!

Savoring The Unblessed !!! - 97%

indianmetalhead, May 22nd, 2008

Bloodbath's new album!!! This news flashed in front of me on blabbermouth.net. I just had to get it in any which way possible thanks to the last three crushing albums streaming pure heart wrenching death metal. "Unblessing the Purity" just like all the previous Bloodbath's efforts is an evolution in the sound of the band with respect to its predecessor which a lot of people don't appreciate and slightly even I don't.

Follow-up to a powerhouse like "Nightmares made Flesh" would have never been easy and maybe to a certain extent the band could not top it but then they haven't let their fans down also. The only minus point for me was that this was not a full fledged EP which kind of leaves the listener begging for more in the end and does not feel satisfied.

With a few line up changes and induction of Mikael from Opeth once again the band sounds tight and gruesome. Mikael's vocals are merciless and they stand out on this album more than anything just proving further that he is one of the best in the business. The vocals style is a departure from the black/death metal shrieks of the great Peter Tagtgren.

Adding on to the brutality is none other than Opeth's Axe. His drumming is intense and crisp with a lot of variations through out all the four songs with both technicality and speed thrown in from every corner the drumming will knock your heads off. He just doesn't fail to impress on every record he does. Compared to "Nightmares made flesh" Renkse's bass hasn't been given as much weight age as on that album. He does have his own moments and the bass is pretty audible through out the LP but not like the last record where it had some or the other part in ever song, yet an outstanding effort from Renkse.

The new member on the fret board is Per 'Sodomizer' Eriksson whose inclusion kind of pushes the LP to be a brutal and technically top notch experience and well I don't want to complain about the band becoming all technical. Even though the band started out to be an old school death metal band and the head behind the whole idea Dan Swano is no longer with the band but with their latest effort I am satisfied because I am getting my dose of supreme death metal.

Almost all songs are par excellence but all of then have something special that stands out e.g. the first track has an amazing dose of blast beats that will rattle your brains out, Weak aside the second track is a very atmospheric track and has an aura of its own , thanks to the intricate guitar work.

P.S. - All those who love brutal, technical, avant-garde death metal should have this record and all those who want an introduction to the above mentioned genres can start from this album as a small offering.

Bloodbath's top notch! - 100%

blastheart, April 14th, 2008

I am a person that have problems with certain people. People like Dan Swanö and Peter Tägtgren for example. I mean BLOODBATH's first full-length "Resurrection Through Carnage" is an excellent death metal album but just the fact that Swanö is playing drums on that recording makes me less satisfied with it. However the tempo on that album is far to low for my taste. On their second full-length Swanö was no longer in the band but replaced by the excellent Martin "Axe" Axenrot who is one of Swedens finest drummers! But instead another "hate object" joined the band. An hate object namned Peter Tägtgren. Believe me when I say that I love "Nightmares Made Flesh"! It's an amazing death metal album with just the rigth speed, guitars, drums and vocals for my taste! But the fact that Peter is doing those amazing vocals are a bit anoying for me when I listen to it.

But now!

BLOODBATH has created an monster of an line-up. Back are the monster growler Mikael Åkerfeldt and Martin Axenrot are still torturing the drumheads.
Kicking off when the fasted song ever made by the band "Blasting The Virginborn" the set and tempo for this EP that can't be matched by anything the have created before. Mikael's vocals are just amazing and I think that together with Jörgen Sandström (The Project Hate, ex-Grave) and Rogga Johansson (Demiurg, Paganizer, Ribspreader) Mikael is one of Swedens finest growlers.
The guitar work is fast and technical and you feel like this is just how death metal should be.
"Weak Aside" keeps the speed and the melodies are clearly heard making every song unforgettable. After the first listen of the EP you remeber every song and can name them and say "ah, it goes like that". Not many DM bands succed with that.
"Sick Salvation" keeps the hammering spririt up but "Mouth Of Empty Praise" slows the tempo down, showing that the band still handles the slower kind of DM too.

This is by far BLOODBATH's best release to date and every member are outplaying themselves compared to the other albums!
"Unblessing The Purity" are a definite "gotta-have" for every death metal fan out there!
GOOD WORK! Keep up the spririt!

Atheist meets Fleshcrawl - 50%

Lord_Seth, April 9th, 2008

Well, what I was fearing long time ago (not that I wanted it), a "bad" Bloodbath's album. And just because the totally forgot about the premise that established themselves: "Brutality comes through simplicity"m which was the base for "Breeding Death".

Now they fell in the trap to do a more complicated death metal way (which is not bad at all, but I think that it's just not for them) like MANY other bands and not doing it any better or different. Maybe now without Dan Swanö and the return of Akerfeldt sharing new ideas for the album was not the best deal. I always liked Opeth, but sometimes I may think "geez, this was too much" and I can't play their albums for a while, their just torture their minds trying to do the most complex music ever, and ok! that's fine for Opeth, but not for an "old school death metal" band.

The drummer seems to be taken from a jazz band and now he's totally into death metal hyper blast style, but not forgetting his roots, and again, for bands like Atheist or Cynic was just great, but for a brutal "my-voice-is-the-biggest-shit-in-hell" album, well, just is out of context and sometimes falls into the ridicule. When I listen a guy trying to look great at the drumming, I just think about Pete Sandoval and his death metal style, and for sure, this isn't, just portrait a teenager knowing how to hyper blast the drums while he is a jazz fan, like this, totally weird.

Yes, there are a couple of death metal riffs in this EP, but even so, they remind me of Fleshcrawl or some of the not so "classic" death metal stuff, so, I wonder: is this really Bloodbath? wasn't their style a "tribute" for the OLD death metal? or now is just a "super" band with "super" stars making albums (and money) like so many others.

Lucky they will realize about this and the upcoming album will be far away from this...thing. And again, is not really a crappy album, just, not for them, and not for someone trying to listen some old death metal tribute. Now I find solace comfort in Ribspreader (hail Dan Swanö!) if I really want to listen something that reminds me Bloodbath or the true, lost death metal spirit.

"Unblessing The Purity" (and what an ugly and cheap cover), an album that not even Ã…kerfeldt's brutal vocals were able to save it.

Deserving of Empty Praise - 25%

stonedjesus, April 9th, 2008

Why Bloodbath was ever touted as a "throwback" or "retro" death metal band never made sense to me. They sound fully modern, and it seems they blend in with modern brutal bands more so on this release such as Vomitory (Swe), Coercion or Visceral Bleeding... Hell, take your pick of any Swedish brutal death metal band and you've got a decent comparison.

As far as calling the band's line-up "Death Metal Superstars"... Consider that none of those superstars ever got any notice until they removed Death Metal from their respective band's sounds. Let's face it, Opeth and Katatonia are barely metal anymore and very much crybaby Korn-rock.

The only reason this completely unexceptional and amateur music will be listened to is the Bloodbath brand name, which is noted thanks solely to Opeth's worldwide success as chubby mall-gothic popular fare. Unlike the previously unimaginative wimp wristed albums from before, this is a brutal death EP. If you don't know what brutal death metal sounds like, don't bother because the sub-genre is completely unimaginative and overdone.

Fast drumming, fast guitar riffs that you've heard before countless times, Opeth guy on vocals being bland as usual and I'm not even sure if the band employs a bassist.

"Mouth of Empty Praise" ah, the irony... Please someone mute the empty praise for this album. It is thoughtless and barren of any truly interesting performances or ideas.

May the mall-gothic crowds of obesity grow fatter off the empty caloric content of this brand name death metal refuse. 25/100 with 25 points just for being a death metal band.

Great, Traditional Death Metal Revisited - 90%

LoGrade, March 15th, 2008

Bloodbath isn't reinventing the wheel here. They're not diverging, in my opinion, from anything that hasn't already been done by many of the genre's top dogs in this traditional death metal style. But what Bloodbath does is deliver a very polished, heavy, evil and brutal 4-song album.

This band sounds a lot to me like a traditional death metal band with an extra dash of darkness and evilness. Bloodbath reminds me often times of bands like Dismember, Immolation, Malevolent Creation, Vader, Amorphis and Hypocrisy. And there are moments where Bloodbath has some really haunting guitar licks. One could close their eyes and almost see the ruined landscape of a post-apocalyptic world as Mikael Akerfeldt beckons you to come closer and hear him growl about the oceans of pain he carries deep within. "Mouth of Empty Praise" has a couple moments like this that gives me goosebumps.

There's some near-breakdown type (reminding me of Lamb of God) moments ("Blasting the Virginborn" at around 30 second mark is a good example) in this album which makes me wonder if they're looking at newer bands for influence besides just grabbing at the past greats.

The production is great as well. Everything sounds crystal clear while still sounding rough and unprocessed and evil as fuck. All in all, a great, four song shot-in-the-arm, that is no-frills death metal and itt makes me want to revisit all the old great traditional death metal bands that really got me into the genre.

Note: This is NOT a technical or progressive death metal band just because Mikael is in it (like one of the reviewers here got the impression --> nor would I call Opeth all that technical, just artsy and progressive). Well, Bloodbath isn't trying parade around as technical so if you're looking for technical, go look somewhere else this (see: Necrophagist, Cryptopsy, Gory Blister, Psycroptic, Anata).

A sign of great things to come - 90%

stefan86, March 14th, 2008

When I heard mr. Åkerfeldt a.k.a. Satan, was back on vocals for this EP I got immensely excited. While "Nightmares Made Flesh" was an extremely competent disc I still felt that the last piece of the puzzle was missing. Peter Tägtgren is obviously good enough skill wise for any band but I still feel Mike has a more natural place in Bloodbath.

The main difference between this disc and NMF musically is definitely Swanö's departure. His more hooky and chorus centered song ideas are all gone on this disc. Instead the focus is on the more direct Death Metal style of Renkse and Blakkheim's songwriting. Opening song "Blasting The Virginborn" is quite similar to "Soul Evisceration" from the last album. It's fast, furious and does its job as an introduction to the album.

...and with a rising volume arrives the true beast of "Unblessing The Purity". "Weak Aside" is a typical Blakkheim tune in vein of "Outnumbering The Day". While being very fast it also has a lot of eerie moments, with the tapping part at three minutes being the best. The chorus hook is also huge, with Mike even topping the fantastic performance on RTC.

The other two tunes place somewhere in between track one and two in quality. "Sick Salvation" has a fantastic brutal chorus hook where Mike delivers some well chosen words about god. This track is pure adrenaline and will be one hell of a live track whenever they decide to do a gig again. Seems like new member and Katatonia guitar tech Sodomizer knows how to write Death Metal.

"Mouth of Empty Praise" is even better, especially in the intro. Mike gets on with the verse over a riff best described as oldschool Thrash mixed with really brutal Death Metal. After thirty seconds of heavy riffing we're treated to some signature Axenrot blasting and a melody part that sounds suspiciously much like "Blood Vortex" from NMF. Renkse's little ripoff of himself only serves this song well though since the part sounds great in context.

Beside Åkerfeldts almost inhuman onslaught on vocals we see another member really stepping it up on this EP. Axe does a performance that really brings out his own style. He does his signature blasting on many occasions but I still feel he's more creative on here which should kill the reputation he has as a straight extreme metal drummer.

When it comes down to production the vocals and drums sound just about perfect. I would've wanted the guitars a little louder in the mix, but it's a pretty minor complaint. All in all Bloodbath delivered what we all expected from them. This is good Death Metal with fantastic vocals. Now I'm just waiting for a full length release.

Mouth of Un-Empty Praise - 100%

Cadaever, March 13th, 2008

This is an EP I had been looking forward to for some time! I loved ‘Breeding Death’ and ‘Resurrection through Carnage’, both were very much ‘tributes’ to the old school of Death Metal, think ‘Entombed’ think ‘Dismember’. Simple, brutal and to the point, with a guitar sound very much a homage to that ‘Swedish’ guitar sound pioneered on the awesome’ Left Hand Path’. Then came ‘Nightmares Made Flesh’ and something changed!! Gone were the simple song structures and ‘Swedish’ guitar sound, to be replaced by more technical song-writing and a cleaner, more modern sound. Sure the nod to the old school was still there (‘Eaten’, anybody?) but added to it was a sense of re-birth! ‘Nightmares’ was/is very much a modern Death metal record and a standout recording, taking all aspects of the genre, both past and present, and combining them with fresh ideas and paving a brave new way forward.

So where does ‘Unblessing the Purity’ stand in respect to its predecessors? Well it’s the next logical step forward! Definitely more ‘Nightmares’ than ‘Resurrection’ or ‘Breeding’. To start with the production is very much a follow on from ‘Nightmares’, clean, slick but still with a raw edge. The guitars are heavily distorted but clear enough so every riff is easily picked out, the bass is a bit hard to hear, especially in the faster parts, more adding to the sound as a whole rather than being a distinct instrument on its own! The drums are perfectly mixed, being not too high or low in the mix, the snare has a good ‘snap’ to it and the bass drums are distinct without ever overpowering the vocals or guitar! On the subject of vocals they sit perfectly on the ‘surface’ of the mix.

Before I go on and describe the music a mention must go to the new personnel on this release. OK Mikael Åkerfeldt isn’t really a new addition but the news of his return was greatly anticipated! I’m glad to say he doesn’t disappoint. His deep, brutal death growls suit the music perfectly and I personally think he shows that he is one of the finest vocalists in Death metal at this time. Per Eriksson is the real ‘newbie’ and he looks like a great addition, and replacement for the departed Dan Swanö. His song-writing has fitted straight in and he pens one complete song and co-writes one other. Definitely hit the ground running.

OK so what about songs, well the easiest way to describe ‘Unblessing the Purity’ is to say it sounds like a faster slightly more technical ‘Nightmares Made Flesh’ with Mikael Åkerfeldt’s awesomely deep vocals instead of Peter Tägtgrens!!

But I feel a little more explanation is needed! Well for starters this is easily the fastest release by the band, I’m not of the fastest = heaviest brigade, in fact I feel that too much speed can have the opposite effect, and detract from the heaviness, contrast is what is needed! Well we have contrast in abundance here, yes there are blast beats aplenty but this is offset by slower ultra-heavy parts and even some experimental atmospheric sections.

Each of the four tracks uses ultra fast blast-beats and counter riffing as the basic formula and yet each song retains its own identity. All of the songs take a little longer to sink in than some of the material found on the first two releases, but after 2 or 3 plays, all the songs show there class. The riffs are all cleverly written and it’s obvious that each of the songs has been well thought out in terms of impact and sheer brutal heaviness.

The bottom line is this. Expectations can sometimes ruin an album/EP, because the music can never be as good as what you have built it up to be. But there are exceptions to the rules. And ‘Unblessing the Purity’ for me is one of the exceptions! My expectation for this release was literally sky high and I’m glad to say the band has lived up to every single one of them!

Is it supposed to be Technical Death? Baah! - 20%

Audioslave666raj, March 11th, 2008

Well I may not be very good at describing albums musically well, but being a non-biased listener (may be biased for Mike's works) I know what sounds good, and what are your expectations from a band. Believe me, I m one of the most ardent fans of Mikael Akerfeldt around, but that doesn't mean I keep on blindly supporting every stuff they come out with.

After their debut album "Resurrection Through Carnage" ( with Mike on vocals) they ushered a completely new era in Swedish Death Metal scene. Seriously this album made me a huge fan of his vocals ability. Even after Mike's exit they came out with another fucking epic great album in the form of "Nightmares Made Flesh". People hailed them as the new Swedish super-group filling in the shoes of the greats like Dismember, Grave etc.

And then comes this EP. Annoying, disappointing, boring, wankery are the perfect words to describe this. The album begins with a familiar Old School Melo-death sound, but then suddenly after a few minutes of plays it takes a huge turn and thats where this starts failing for me.

I just fail to understand the obsession of upcoming and even older bands to shift to technicality and add progressive elements to the releases. Ok, Mike is the frontman of an extreme progressive band called Opeth, but then he was still there in opeth when he came out with the first release of the band, isn't it? The band tries too much to impress the fans by guitar and double bass wankery right from the first song itself till the very end of this EP. "Weak Aside" is the weakest track in the entire EP. The sudden tempo shift at 1.51, and to make it worse, drawing influences from Pitbulls In The Nursery at 1.26 and the end of the track(I m talking about the riffs). They do it time and again in other tracks too. As it progresses, it just goes beyond my wildest imaginations as in what the fuck is on these guys' mind. Why aren't they trying to stick to one particular style? Experimentations has worked wonders for many bands but then it has led to strongest criticisms too if you fail badly at it, which mostly is the case with many a bands, and I am afraid to say this is true for Bloodbath too.

Well, its not like I am against Technical Death Metal or Progressive Death sound, believe me they are one of the most accomplished genres in Death Metal
but there are proper ways to put that in an album, even if you manage to produce guitar riffs like Pitbulls In The Nursery why aren't you backing it with odd-time signatures and complex drum patterns and prominent tempo shifts with bass guitar solos? See, thats where you start to feel why Dan Swano was such an important member of this band.

But whatever, there is something in store for fan-boys; yeah, you heard me right. Mike's vocals are good if not great, well suited for a Progressive Death band, but as I said I am missing the Old School Melo-death sound. And then there is "Mouth for Praising Words" (well at least the first half of it). Rest all is crap, you better be true to your words Mikael, as I m counting very high on Opeth's upcoming release too and better come out with a killer Bloodbath full-length.