Bloodcrown may be a fairly new band that formed back in 2022, but its members have been a part of the Swedish death metal landscape for at least two decades as part of acts like Pantokrator, Exhale, and The Weakening. With this in mind, it makes sense that the group’s debut Sound of Flesh and Bone comes roaring out of the gate with a bit more polish and precision than some of the other newcomers out there. Spread over eleven tracks, the group’s debut focuses on speed and aggression with some occasional slower grooves, blurring the lines between earlier melodic death metal, death/thrash, and even some traditional Swedish death metal. It does fall into some similar patterns as you make your way through and there is room for Bloodcrown to further shake up their formula, but they’ve given themselves a solid foundation to build from.
It only takes a few seconds after hitting play for the sheer wall of sound that Bloodcrown is creating to hit you, as opener “When Wolves” bursts in with dense, pummeling drums and mid-tempo riffs that have a very big and powerful presence. There are some moves into faster tempos, but the opener is surprisingly one of the slower tracks the album has to offer as it sticks with lumbering grooves and a bit of softer atmosphere towards the end. It’s as if the band is teasing the listener as what’s to come, because once “Sword Cut” kicks in the speed goes into overdrive. This is where Bloodcrown leans more into classic melodic death metal and death/thrash, often approaching the speed and aggression of bands like The Crown while the mid-tempo grooves and chugs are reminiscent of The Haunted and other groups of that type from the mid-2000s. But where these guys are able to stand out a bit more is in how these elements are woven together into their writing, as rather than coming across like a pure At The Gates clone they weave in a bit more traditional death metal and death/thrash into the mix. This makes their material feel more like a love letter to the different variants of Swedish death metal across the decades, and they do a good job of balancing the speed and aggression with some catchier grooves. However, despite the strong first impression the material makes the way that many of the songs transition between the grooves and blasting is a bit too similar and it does make some of them run together over repeat listens. But when Bloodcrown actually slows things down a bit on “Momentary”, “Purge”, and “Fire of Resistance” they not only shake up the formula in interesting ways but they let the darker and grittier atmosphere build more. That’s not to say that the speedier numbers don’t have staying power, as the aforementioned “Sword Cut” is another highlight, but there’s still room for the group to further vary their attack so it comes through as a bit less uniform.
The Weakening’s Barry Halldan handles lead vocals for Bloodcrown, but you also get backing vocals from the other members of the band which helps to flesh things out even further. This is one area where the material is already rock solid at this early stage, as Halldan has one of those growls that towers over the recording with an immense amount of power and he’s able to move slightly and up and down in pitch to shake things up. The backing vocals come in lots of different forms as well, sometimes touching upon slightly cleaner yells that bring in more of a 2000’s groove metal vibe while other moments go for much harsher and distorted death metal screams. There are also some well-placed samples that tie into some of the horror and gore elements, and all these elements come together to make the vocals a strong package.
Bloodcrown has found a sweet spot between classic melodeath, traditional death metal, and the speedy aggression of death/thrash on their debut. They bring precision and a loud, powerful production with them that makes for a strong first impression, and while some of the songs do blur together a bit I still found myself drawn back by the consistent intensity and dynamic vocal performances. If the group can build on this foundation and shake up their transitions between the faster and mid-tempo sections a bit more, there’s a lot to look forward to in the next few years. Sound of Flesh and Bone is available from Gruesome Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg