Stormborn

A new day has dawned, and with it a new color for one of Sweden's better known heavy metal chameleons to wear on its skin. This analogy is actually a fitting one given that Bloodbound, now a band with a consistent lineup, has bucked any notion of consistency in terms of style while still being of a recognizable species of old school heavy metal meshed with fasted paced, shred happy power metal. Their history, a wild pendulum of sorts, has swung from one extreme of being overly serious with the progressively tinged and mechanical Tabula Rasa, to the other with the anything but serious ode to metal excess In The Name Of Metal, but between these fringe points there is a more comfortable medium where the rest of their varied catalog rests, and such is the case with their latest offering Stormborn; an opus where things have taken a bit more of an epic flavor that edges perhaps slightly more into serious territory than the likes of Book Of The Dead and Unholy Cross.

Perhaps the best way to separate this latest studio offering from the pack is to see it in more of a cinematic light, which is fitting given that a number of references to the popular "Game Of Thrones" series are made throughout the album. While some have been quick to liken this band to a less niche-based competitor to the likes of Sabaton, Powerwolf and a few other recent power metal acts given the close proximity of all their respective runs, this is the first album where the comparison really holds up to any degree, and the end result is still musically closer to the older school sound of Hammerfall and Dream Evil, with a side order of Edguy and Helloween. The cinematic character of this album is largely geared towards the heavily orchestrated character of the entire listen, with a heavy emphasis on massive vocal choirs and keyboard layering, but without supplanting the heavier elements of the band, namely their characteristically massive drum sound.

In addition to the pomp and grandeur of the total arrangement, the tempo has been kicked up to the more respectable roar that typified Book Of The Dead and Unholy Cross, though this time it veers a bit closer to the pulsating speed metal character of Primal Fear and Paragon. This is most apparent on such blistering fits of fury as the Painkiller infused monster of an opener "Satanic Panic" and the busy riffing speeder "Blood Of My Blood". The quickness factor dominates much of the remainder of the album in a few differing manifestations, including a speedy but more formulaic character as heard on the consistently fast and catchy "Iron Throne" and the flashy blazer "Seven Hells", both of them just a tad too dark for Helloween but otherwise quite comparable to said German power metal institution, whereas "When All Lights Fail" sounds up beat and triumphant enough to pass for something out of late 90s Edguy.

While in terms of overall pacing Stormborn listens close to those almost one-dimensional speed albums that were a dominant factor at the close of the millennium, where this album really shines is when they take things a bit slower. This is where the band leans into that down tempo trudging character that would often accompany a longer epic on an 80s Manowar album, ergo the stuff that eventually ended up inspiring the Viking metal sub-genre, though again, Bloodbound takes it in a bit more of a densely orchestrated film score direction that is probably most comparable to the likes of "Heart Of Steel". Between these two would be epics is something that shies away from being too long-winded, but both the title track and "When The Kingdom Will Fall" have that grand battlefield aesthetic to them that will definitely spark a host of visualizations in the mind of any high fantasy or ancient warfare junkie, of which the power metal crowd has in spades.

Where Bloodbound goes next after successfully reinventing themselves six out of six times is anybody's guess at this point, though even if they end up retreading the past, they've landed in so many different areas that it would probably still sound like new ground being struck. This is still the same band with the same over-the-top imagery and musical presentation, but that is pretty much where the sameness stops. It may be the rare exception that ends up liking every single album this band has put out, but it would be no stretch at all to assume that those who went for all except for their two most "out there" offerings (Tabula Rasa and In The Name Of Metal) will find another winner here. Whether by fire or a raging thunderstorm, there is a world of power and majesty just waiting to swallow up another disbeliever once the music ensues.