CoC : Bloodbath - Resurrection Through Carnage : Review

Bloodbath - _Resurrection Through Carnage_
(Century Media, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10)

Every once in a while, an all-star project is born in the metal world that seems destined to harvest critical accolades and delight fans alike. Bloodbath are doing just that with their old-school Swedish death metal. The _Breeding Death_ EP served as a successful introduction to the band, but clearly that initial release was but a prelude of what was to come. _Resurrection Through Carnage_ is an album that cynics may think would have earned plaudits regardless of its quality, just for the sheer weight of the names on its line-up: Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth, vocals), Anders Nystrom (Katatonia, guitar), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia, bass) and Dan Swano (most notably ex-Edge of Sanity, drums). Fortunately, however, this album is just so damn enjoyable that I doubt it would get any less honours had it been released by a bunch of unknowns -- it might get less attention, but it's hard to deny its honest, straightforward appeal. Ironically, for all the big names in Bloodbath, the only influences one can notice from their respective bands of origin relate to Swano's early Edge of Sanity. Couple that with proudly worn influences such as old Entombed and Dismember, and you get Bloodbath: a modern look at old-school Swedish death metal. Nystrom seems to be a bit of an Entombed and Dismember freak, as his guitar work on this album demonstrates, while Swano contributes more than a handful of ideas, riffs and melodies that bring back pleasant memories of Edge of Sanity (which he apparently intends to reform with a view to creating something like _Crimson_ part two, according to reports). Akerfeldt's vocals are of a relatively deep, gravelly variety; a bit different from their Opeth demon vox, but with plenty of smart inflexions and hooks to make sure they connect well with the riffs and melodies. _Resurrection Through Carnage_ is guaranteed to get virtually anyone who is into extreme metal tapping and humming along to the dirty yet powerful guitar tunes and vocal lines, the more percussive riffs, and Swano's simple but effective drumming. This is pure, unpretentious metallic enjoyment from beginning to end.

[Aaron McKay: "You know when you've met your match. No matter how many times I go through this CD, I come back to the same thing -- this is as good as it gets. I tried -- believe me, I tried -- to find some blemish or imperfection that I could cite against Bloodbath. There were none to be found. Songs all throughout _Resurrection Through Carnage_ have hauntingly innovative guitar parts courtesy of Katatonia's Anders Nystrom sometimes laid over the brutish and raspy growls of Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt. Listen after listen, start to finish, I am nonetheless amazed by the power of this album! It has my highest endorsement."]

[Gino Filicetti: "I must say, it has been a LONG time since almost EVERY track on a new album has moved me as much as the sheer masterpiece that is _Resurrection Through Carnage_. My first taste of this album came when I heard the second track, "So You Die". To my great delight, the rest of the album held its own -- and then some -- against this benchmark. Perfection has definitely reared its seldomly seen head, just try and prove me wrong."]

Contact: http://www.bloodbath.biz

(article published 30/4/2003)

ALBUMS
9/11/2008	P Azevedo	8.5	Bloodbath - The Fathomless Mastery
13/7/2008	P Azevedo	9	Bloodbath - The Wacken Carnage
17/6/2008	P Azevedo	8.5	Bloodbath - Unblessing the Purity
31/8/2004	M Noll	8.5	Bloodbath - Nightmares Made Flesh
12/8/2000	M Noll	8	Bloodbath - Breeding Death