Bloodbath - "the Arrow of Satan is Drawn"

A death metal super group of sorts that features members of Opeth, Katatonia and Paradise Lost. This release feels like there is more heft than the first one that featured the Paradise Lost vocalist. They get real fucking serious on the weighty grind driving "Bloodicide". Sometimes it sounds like they almost feel obligated to speed things up.These songs work better when they are hitting you with more of a Celtic Frost feel. The chugs can be massive here and the guitar tone is just sick. Lyrically it's all a mute point and almost a heavy metal parody."Wayward Samaritan ' has an almost rock n roll feel like a Slipknot song gone off the rails and a more death metal vocal. You can kinda hear more of the doomy old Katatonia sound in "Leviator" . It has a lot of punch to it, but there is something angular and awkward about the riff. There is no mistaking the fact that the song's strongest moments are the ones that bear the most likeness to Morbid Angel.

"Deader" is pretty straight forward and grinding, not saying it's grindcore, it just feels like that is what the riff is doing. There is less punishment though "March of the Crucifers" has a massive wall of density that almost grooves. Midway into this album and I am pretty certain it's heavier than their previous album. Not a deal sealer with me as I don't live off heaviness alone, but know that new will thrill fans of the band and death metal in general. By the time we get to "Morbid Antichrist" it's beginning to take on a more uniform sound to me. I will give them credit these songs are all very compact and hit you hard and then are over , not droning or drawing anything out to make the attack more urgent. There is another hint of rock n roll to "Warhead Ritual". Not that they are turning into the Rolling Stones, their is just more of a melodic nuance than pure sonic violence death metal is known for.

The syncopated stomp of "Only The Dead Survive" is pretty powerful and also allows for a vulgar display of double bass. Considering what big pussies Opeth has become it's good to hear that their drummer still has metal in his heart and is just collecting a pay check. Even though it does not possess the dense heaviness of the previous song "Chainsaw Lullaby" has more grit to it. It might not be reinventing death metal but this song gives most fans of the genre what they are looking for in a manner that is brutal, but still done with a musical sense of class. I can hear touches of Entombed in what they are doing, but I guess that comes with your blood if you are from Sweden, it's better than if they sounded like Dark Tranquility. I'll give this album an 8.5 it's a very solid piece of death metal and fans of this band will be pleased it is one of their heaviest albums yet.