Bloodphemy - In Cold Blood
Alright then, now that we are all settled in and ready, we might as well start with the basic nitty gritty job of a quick, abbreviated, bio here. Bloodphemy are a four to five piece (depending on where you look online) band that hail from Amersfoort, the Netherlands. They originally formed way back in 2000 and were only active until 2003 and then restarted again, twelve years later, in 2015. Their own Bandcamp and Facebook pages claim them to be an "old school death metal band ... influenced by Morbid Angel, Sadistic Intent and Obituary’s grooves." This album, In Cold Blood is their second (third if you count the demo) full length album to date, they also have an ep under their belt. All of which, except for the demo, have come to be after the resurrection of Bloodphemy as a band.
Now let us get into the real meat of this album, "In Cold Blood", here. What we are presented with upon first hitting play is just around a minute of what feels like good old 80's horror movie soundtrack/sounds. Creepy, eerie and completely retro synth-y. Just what you would want from an old school death metal album. Right? What follows for around the next thirty-six minutes worth of nine tracks is some death metal with a lot of talent and promise that just ends up feeling rather mediocre to underwhelming to even frustrating at times.
Bloodphemy are a band full of good, talented musicians who have some really good to even killer riffs, unfortunately they just don't seem to stick around long enough to be truly crushing. Every single track on this album had the potential to be really good to great but there was just too much editing and adding on done to them. There doesn't need to be added stutter stops, harmonics or extra chugs added to parts, they are just not needed. Most of the time the main riff is great but just gets screwed and twisted in ways that just seem extra. And extra for the sake of extra never seems to add anything valuable, mostly just frustrates and wastes time.
Plus I have issues with the production of "In Cold Blood". Overall it is ultra modern and slick sounding, which in my opinion does not fit with the old school aesthetic at all, if that's what you're going for. Also the levels are just off, the drums and heavy chug of the rhythm guitar dominate over anything else that may be going on in the track. The lead guitar is just utterly buried, unless it is solo time that is, then it's the loudest thing ever. Hell, there are some awesome tremelo picking riffs here and there, you just have to strain yourself to hear them over the crush and din of everything else, irritating.
What about the vocals you say? Well, they are on point. Straight up, good death metal vocals, good lows and high to mid counterpoints. Not much to complain or rave about. Also they seem to be the only thing that is at the right level in the mix.
Don't get me wrong, these gents have plenty of talent and skill, they just need to understand how to utilize it better. For one, you do not need to be the Swiss Army knife of death metal, you can be good and different, and honestly better, without having to try and add a little bit of flavoring from everything. There are plenty of moments on "In Cold Blood" that are downright killer, they pump you up and make you bang your head, but sadly they only last for a moment or two before Bloodphemy switch it up and add some unneeded touches or textures. For two, clean up that mix, a nasty mix like this turns me off real fast. It honestly comes down to the old adage, "Less is more" here and that is truly what is needed.
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Now let us get into the real meat of this album, "In Cold Blood", here. What we are presented with upon first hitting play is just around a minute of what feels like good old 80's horror movie soundtrack/sounds. Creepy, eerie and completely retro synth-y. Just what you would want from an old school death metal album. Right? What follows for around the next thirty-six minutes worth of nine tracks is some death metal with a lot of talent and promise that just ends up feeling rather mediocre to underwhelming to even frustrating at times.
Bloodphemy are a band full of good, talented musicians who have some really good to even killer riffs, unfortunately they just don't seem to stick around long enough to be truly crushing. Every single track on this album had the potential to be really good to great but there was just too much editing and adding on done to them. There doesn't need to be added stutter stops, harmonics or extra chugs added to parts, they are just not needed. Most of the time the main riff is great but just gets screwed and twisted in ways that just seem extra. And extra for the sake of extra never seems to add anything valuable, mostly just frustrates and wastes time.
Plus I have issues with the production of "In Cold Blood". Overall it is ultra modern and slick sounding, which in my opinion does not fit with the old school aesthetic at all, if that's what you're going for. Also the levels are just off, the drums and heavy chug of the rhythm guitar dominate over anything else that may be going on in the track. The lead guitar is just utterly buried, unless it is solo time that is, then it's the loudest thing ever. Hell, there are some awesome tremelo picking riffs here and there, you just have to strain yourself to hear them over the crush and din of everything else, irritating.
What about the vocals you say? Well, they are on point. Straight up, good death metal vocals, good lows and high to mid counterpoints. Not much to complain or rave about. Also they seem to be the only thing that is at the right level in the mix.
Don't get me wrong, these gents have plenty of talent and skill, they just need to understand how to utilize it better. For one, you do not need to be the Swiss Army knife of death metal, you can be good and different, and honestly better, without having to try and add a little bit of flavoring from everything. There are plenty of moments on "In Cold Blood" that are downright killer, they pump you up and make you bang your head, but sadly they only last for a moment or two before Bloodphemy switch it up and add some unneeded touches or textures. For two, clean up that mix, a nasty mix like this turns me off real fast. It honestly comes down to the old adage, "Less is more" here and that is truly what is needed.
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1. Psycotic Breakdown
2. Spree Killing
3. Bloodline
4. A Barbarous Murder
5. Mental Atrophy
6. S.P.E.
7. Out Of The Box
8. Chambers Of Horrors
9. Worship Me
10. l'Iomo Delinquente
2. Spree Killing
3. Bloodline
4. A Barbarous Murder
5. Mental Atrophy
6. S.P.E.
7. Out Of The Box
8. Chambers Of Horrors
9. Worship Me
10. l'Iomo Delinquente
