Bloodbath
THE ARROW OF SATAN IS DRAWN DEATH METAL ALL-STARS HIT THE TARGET ONCE MORE
HOW MANY BANDS get to be reborn not once, but three times? After Mikael Åkerfeldt’s final departure in 2014, many rightfully questioned his replacement, but first Grand Morbid Funeral and then Paradise Lost’s Medusa confirmed that Nick Holmes, although never a growler in the most traditional sense of the word, was the right choice. He also provided the band with the opportunity to fine-tune their armoury slightly, despite still being rooted in the death metal of yore and armed with that typically Swedish guitar sound.
In that spirit, The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn expands on what was laid down four years ago without ever straying too much from its initial course. Opener Fleischmann does directly hint at their new second guitarist Joakim Karlsson’s main band, Craft, and it complements Nick’s more throaty vocal style, closer to, say, Abbath than Kam Lee. Drummer Martin ‘Axe’ Axenrot even gladly indulges with more blastbeats than ever, reminding us that before performing classy progressive tunes with Opeth he was already spitting blood at priests with Witchery and Nifelheim.
But right from the following Bloodicide, we’re back on greasy, groovy and pounding death metal territory. It’s actually quite symbolic that, on said track, three of ‘old Nick’’s esteemed countrymen make a blink-and-you’llmiss-them
appearance – Carcass’s Jeff Walker, Cancer’s John Walker and Memoriam’s Karl Willetts, no less – in perfect sync with their initial goal of paying homage to the glory days of the genre when such public accolades were the norm. Later, the chorus of Levitator borrows a bit of phrasing from Eaten (their most popular track, from 2004’s Nightmares Made Flesh) and closer Chainsaw Lullaby is a death’n’roll waltz showcasing the kind of dark sense of humour that would have made Autopsy’s Chris Reifert proud. More of the same, then, but with enough new ingredients and catchy-as-fuck hooks to justify their ‘super’ status once more.
FOR FANS OF: GRAVE, ENTOMBED, MORBID ANGEL
OLIVIER BADIN