Bloodbath
Unblessing the Purity

December 2008
Released: 2008, Peaceville Records
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Waspman

The Bloodbath juggernaut rolls on and on. Despite constant line-up shuffles, these elite Swedish throwbacks continue to press on and release their brand of unadulterated Swedish death metal. UNBLESSING THE PURITY was meant as a taster for the forthcoming (now released) THE FATHOMLESS MASTERY opus, re-introducing the band after a four-year hiatus. Opeth’s Mikael Akferfeldt is back behind the mic, replacing his own replacement, Peter Tagtgren.

As expected, UNBLESSING THE PURITY is a feast of Swedish death metal, with a dash of melodic guitar thrown in for fun. Speaking of fun, part of the appeal of Bloodbath is that you can hear the guys letting go and enjoying themselves. Akferfeldt in particular hasn’t sounded this invigorated in a long time. Don’t get me wrong, his Opeth performances are always top-notch, but whereas Opeth is his job, Bloodbath allows him to just crank up the metal and enjoy. Same goes for all the guys in the band.

As you might expect, there isn’t much to chew on here, being only four songs long. Fave would have to be the descending madness of “Sick Salvation”, but there are no weak songs here. At this point, we all know what Bloodbath is about, and they don’t disappoint. Get it.