Bloodline

This is the full-length debut of Sweden's Irrbloss, a folk/black metal hybrid who are riding off a pair of decent demos in the past few years. Bloodline is a solid offering with a professional sound and some well-written tracks, sure to please fans of the pagan black style.

"Norse Horde" opens with a glorious, churning riff interspersed in blast beats. The chords used mirror the title well, and there is an excellent riff at around the 2:48 mark which will have you pounding your mead horn. "Keep on Walking" builds upon its opening chords as it weaves a melodic tapestry of Viking-like metal that should do any fan of Moonsorrow proud. "As We Lived" has a great lead-in riff with an air of mystique, and gets even better during the fetching verses. "Gaze Upon Me" is largely a slower piece with some truly majestic melodies amidst its faster bursts. Other excellent tracks are "Heresy" with its brief acoustic opening; the rocking "Midwinters Eve", and the dense title track which ends the debut.

Bloodline sounds fantastic, like the work of a far more experienced band. All instruments are balanced below the vocals of Irrbloss (yep, oddly he uses the same stage name as the band, which is Swedish for 'will-o-wisp'), which are well delivered snarls. The album has enough texture and depth to it that fans of other pagan black bands of quality would probably find it worthwhile. So if you're a sucker for Moonsorrow, Enslaved and the like, give them a listen.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

So here we have Gothenburg's Irrbloss. Coming together nicely over the last few years and adding themselves to the endless list of Swedish metal bands intent on dominating the metal world simply by increasing in vast numbers. Hell, it's not even just Sweden, you may as well go ahead and add the rest of Scandinavia to that list while your at it. Even for the hardened veteran of metal it can be confusing these days to sift through the vast number of bands coming out of the north lands and come away with just one that warrants burning a hole in your wallet. You can become guilty of taking the easy way out by adding to your Entombed or Edge of Sanity collections instead of taking a risk on the newest addition to the Swedish roster. And thats where Irrbloss fit in.

Formed around 2004 by vocalist Irrbloss with the intention of creating a one man band. It wasn't long before he found himself putting together a full unit. A couple of years of recording demos and securing a full line-up ensued. This brings us to 2008 when the self proclaimed "Folk Viking Black Metal" outfit went about recording Bloodline. Folk viking black metal doesn't really make the listener raise an eyebrow expecting to hear a record of inspired listening. For such an over saturated market of late I wasn't expecting to be very impressed. Why would you? It's been a long time that any band with a viking metal tag has come up with the goods without looking to bands like Enslaved for an almost guaranteed top notch listen.

So what does Bloodline sound like? Well as soon as you press play and "Norse Horde" kicks in your greeted with more traditional mid nineties sounding viking metal vocals, heavy and fast tremolo picking backed by intense drums with a modern clear and heavy production. The guitar sound is instantly recognizable as classic swedish, sounding like Somberlain era Dissection colliding with Sworn to the Dark era Watain. The band keep it tight with excellent rhythms and melodies before transcending into clean guitar breaks that build the tension up and blast right back in to intense riffing. This is the main format on Bloodline that for some listeners can sound very generic or tedious in this genre. And this album is anything but. The quality of the song-writing is brilliant, the kind that sticks in your head and can make the band instantly recognizable after a couple of listens. Tracks like "Gaze Up Me" and (here it is again) "Irrbloss" demonstrate this perfectly with memorable riffs and soulful solos that would satisfy any fan of the genre. This prompts me to mention the excellent production once again. The wall of guitar sound here is fantastic utilizing a nice crunchy tone whilst sounding loud and raw on the faster songs. The drums sound slightly quieter to further compliment sound with heavy bass that gives the production that extra depth of heaviness. Just listen to "Midwinters Eve" for an example of this.

While it may take some time for Irrbloss to reach the recognition of their veteran fellow countrymen, they will have no problem getting there with more releases as promising Bloodline. If they get the exposure they arguably deserve then we should be seeing more of this band across the metal world. Becoming a more than welcome addition to that vaster roster of scandinavian bands, only with Irrbloss being one that sits firmly on top of the rest. So put down that collection of Dissection demos next time your in the shop and pick up this. You will more than satisfied.