When Swedish power metal band Bloodbound surfaced in 2005 with their debut album, Nosferatu, it was an album that celebrated the band’s admiration for metal icons like Iron Maiden, Helloween and Judas Priest, recorded on a small budget with no visions of grandeur behind it. With eight studio albums, a live record and an EP under their belts since then, 2021 will see Bloodbound return with album number nine, Creatures Of The Dark Realm. Slated for a release on May 28, 2021 through AFM Records, the new record marks a renewed drive to take the band even further!
Creatures Of The Dark Realm descends with scarcely two years gone since Rise Of The Dragon Empire was unleashed. The three-headed songwriting team of keyboardist Fredrik Bergh, guitarist Tomas Olsson and vocalist Patrik Selleby started from scratch, compiling song ideas they collected individually and finally ending up with eleven solid in-your-face tracks kicked off by a deceptive acoustic intro. On paper, Creatures Of The Dark Realm satisfies all the requirements of what makes a power metal band, but the listening experience is one of epic proportions. Not a single ballad in sight, the new album is an-up-tempo assault, offering heavy groove anthems and straight ahead, blistering power metal at its best!
After Bloodbound just recently shared a first sneak peak with their single When Fate Is Calling, today the Swedish six-piece has unleashed a music video for the enthralling, epic album title track! Watch the Creatures Of The Dark Realm clip here:
On Creatures Of The Dark Realm, Bloodbound seems to follow one simple goal: make it better than on the last album. More hooks and stronger melodies, a result that can speak for itself: Creatures Of The Dark Realm is a very melodic and an ultimately catchy album, sharing airspace with the likes of Sabaton and Powerwolf, going so far as to recall the days of classic Helloween. In that respect, Bloodbound have remained true to the metal that inspired them in the first place.
Says Fredrik Bergh: “We have a few songs that didn’t make it onto the album because we want to have songs that really stick out, that have some qualities that make it interesting and fresh. But, we are in a specific genre of metal so we can’t make a completely new style of music and call it Bloodbound. It can be tricky trying to not to repeat ourselves but I think we succeeded in doing that on the new album.” Bergh continues: “If you compare this new album to Nosferatu, it’s totally different because of how we evolved over the years, but we always aim to come up with the best melodies we can. We take influences from all kinds of music genres of music because a good melody is a good melody. Look at bands like The Beatles and ABBA. Their songs are timeless because of those melodies and that is what we were aiming for. Not to sound like those bands, of course (laughs), but to write songs that capture you immediately and stay in your head for days.”
Creatures Of The Dark Realm was produced by Bloodbound, and will be out on May 28, 2021 through AFM Records, available as CD, DVD, Boxsets and several highly limited, collectable LP Gatefold Editions.
Album Tracklist:
The Creatures Preludium
Creatures Of The Dark Realm
When Fate Is Calling
Ever Burning Flame
Eyes Come Alive
Death Will Lead The Way
Gathering Of Souls
Kill Or Be Killed
The Gargoyles Gate
March Into War
Face Of Evil
The Wicked And The Weak
BLOODBOUND is:
Patrik J. Selleby (Vocals)
Tomas Olsson (Guitars)
Henrik Olsson (Guitars)
Anders Broman (Bass)
Fredrik Bergh (Keyboards)
Daniel Sjögren (Drums)
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