Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Bloodbound
Label: AFM Records
Release: 2017
Runtime: 45:09
Rating: 3.5/5
Bloodbound are a Swedish power metal band. The story began in 2004. The new studio album »War of Dragons« is their seventh, and a relatively quick follow-up to 2014’s »Stormborn«. In the early days of their career, Bloodbound raised a few eyebrows in metal circles over their costumes, since they wore corpse paint on stage, a fetish that belongs to black metal, even though from their debut on they’d planted themselves somewhere between power metal with ultra-melodic catchiness and the world of AOR. The band is still held together by a scene veteran, keyboardist Fredrik Bergh, known for leading the excellent Swedish AOR rockers Street Talk, who have been active since 1994 and put out five studio albums between 1997 and 2006.
»War of Dragons« is, of course, firmly rooted in the good old Nordic-mythological world of indestructible, eternal Viking fearlessness. So a new theater of merciless dragon slaying is upon us. Bloodbound are definitely a mini phenomenon who had a somewhat harder time winning a fanbase than their countrymen HammerFall or Sabaton, but they pulled it off. And since I’m mentioning those two names, it’s not a stretch to say that »War of Dragons« keeps reminding you now of HammerFall, now of Sabbaton (Stand And Fight is basically a flawless Sabbaton copy, and a little later on the album it’s joined by Fallen Heroes). Bergh is cunning. A superb, seasoned composer, and moves like these are meant to win over a wider circle of power metal fans, even though Bloodbound don’t necessarily need that, since at their core they’re born-and-bred power metallers who can stand among their genre peers completely independent and unburdened. It’s also interesting that when we mention HammerFall and Sabbaton in the same breath, we can’t overlook the joint tour of all three bands in 2009, which stopped in Maribor too.
So! A new, credible Bloodbound that all the band’s fans will snap up immediately, along with plenty of power metallers who bet on Swedish sonic perfection and on that instantly ear-catching mix of punch and highly infectious musicality. Though on the flip side there’s generic predictability, and a feeling that the album is woven from tried-and-true, surefire tricks by the vast experience of the band’s seasoned commander and ideas man, Fredrik Bergh.
Considering we saw the band two years ago at Gala hala, and the gig was saved from total collapse by the arrival of a troop of unbending Croatian power metal diehards, since nobody in Slovenia listens to power metal anymore (it’s just “not in fashion”), the next time the band plays new shows, we’ll have to travel far, far abroad to catch them.
Blooodbound – Stand And Fight:
Line-up
Patrik “Pata” Johansson – vocals
Tomas Olsson – guitar
Henrik Olsson – guitar
Fredrik Bergh – keyboards, backing vocals
Anders Broman – bass guitar
Pelle Åkerlind – drums
Production
Jonas Kjellgren
Tracklist
1. A New Era Begins
2. Battle In The Sky
3. Tears Of A Dragonheart
4. War Of Dragons
5. Silver Wings
6. Stand And Fight
7. King Of Swords
8. Fallen Heroes
9. Guardians At Heaven’s Gate
10. Symphony Satana 11. Starfall
12. Dragons Are Forever
