In the Name of Metal

It is the exception where a band can continually reinvent itself with each new studio album and avoid crashing and burning in the process, so by logical deduction, it can be ascertained that Bloodbound is an exception. More often than not, this ongoing series of fits and starts in their evolution has been the consequence of a revolving door of lead vocalists, but with the arrival of this band's first successive album while keeping both the same vocalist and the same recording label, that excuse has essentially vanished. Perhaps the Olsson brothers and company have just gotten so used to change that it has become second nature to them as they do their best to maintain some semblance of an identity all their own, but whatever the reason behind it all, the radical departure that is In The Name Of Metal is by all standards, a world away from where things were just a year prior with Unholy Cross, yet simultaneously it is easy to recognize who the band is and the same basic style at work withal the changing subject matter.

If there is a single term that could sum up what is going on with this album, it's self-parody. It's not the sort of awkward, cringe-worthy type of self-deprecation that can often rear its ugly head when a band decides to stop talking about darkness and evil and just decides to party hearty, but more of an amusingly competent sort of good time fun that doesn't really need to have a point to it. Stylistically, the album is arguably a tad too simple for its own good and takes a lot of songwriting cues from the less than stellar eras of Hammerfall and Dream Evil, namely Crimson Thunder and The Book Of Heavy Metal, albums that are known for being a tad oversimplified and lyrically less than profound. Things are generally relegated to either middle or upper-mid tempo and often exhibits about as much of a rock feel to it as a metallic one, not all that dissimilar from parts of Seven Witches during their brief stint with Wade Black, while at others tilted in more of a late 80s fluff sound due to the keyboard presence, despite the production feeling fairly heavy ended.

While the songwriting is extremely bare bones and predictable, not to mention the lyrics flirting with being outright ridiculous at times, there's definitely some solid songs to be enjoyed. On the catchy side of things is a handful of 80s infused, fist pumping anthems in "Bonebreaker", "Bounded By Blood" and "Son Of Babylon", each one oozing with a retro metal charm to them that rests somewhere between Accept's Metal Heart and Saxon's Innocence Is No Excuse. Things get a bit faster and more aggressive on "When Demons Collide" and "I'm Evil", reminding a bit more of the band's power metal side without quite moving back into the overt Helloween territory that was explored on the previous LP and the first couple prior to their progressive interlude. Things get a bit more hard rocking and modern in the cases of "Mr. Darkness" and "Black Devil", almost seeming as though the band started taking some ideas from the latter days of glam rock circa 1990-1991 and infusing them with a heavier aesthetic. But hands down, the strongest point of this album is also the most lyrically ridiculous, which is the title song "In The Name Of Metal". It definitely takes a few pages out of the Judas Priest playbook vocally, but it's otherwise an either intentional or unintentional parody of Manowar's later 80s material. It's the sort of song that you can't help but sing along with, but do so outside of the purview of any other human beings given how goofy the words of the verses sound.

This is an album that is not in any way, shape or form meant to be taken seriously, and anyone who does so turns out looking even more ridiculous than what they are complaining about, as impossible as that may sound. While it has most of the usual trappings that have typified the Bloodbound sound, namely ripping technical guitar solos, a massive drum production, an extremely heavy overall sound, exaggerated vocals and an endless supply of catchy hooks, this is unlike any album that this band has ever put together and will likely ever do so again. It's the type of album that should only be written once and then fondly remembered as that one instance where we were all free to not give a shit and avoided any frightful consequences in the process. This makes no secrets as to what it is, and if the bizarrely hilarious album cover/warning label doesn't immediately repel the prospective consumer, it is hereby safe to proceed.