Since their birth in the middle of the last decade, Sweden's Bloodbound have had the curse of the rotating lead singer. Urban Breed sang on their first and third albums (Nosferatu and Tabula Rasa) whilst German Michael Bormann took over behind the microphone for the utterly fabulous Book of the Dead in 2007. Now we have Patrick Johansson and he's slotted in nicely as the band has returned to the form which made Book of the Dead such a wonderful outing.
Unholy Cross is a record which can be played from back to front, over and over again. None of the songs slip below being solid and as one would expect the choruses are more than hummable. It's fairly bog standard Euro power metal but such is the quality of the tunes and the production that Unholy Cross rises above much of the dross that gives the genre such a bad name.
Like the recent Symfonia album In Paradisum the most obvious reference point is Edguy (before they got rubbish) as the aforementioned Johansson does have a touch of the Samet's in his delivery. As I said in my review of In Paradisum this could most definitely be a good thing if you're feeling a tad retro or you just want some straightforward sing along metal. It's difficult to pick standout tracks but the opener "Moria" and "Together We Fight" are quality fist punchers powered by Gothic stylings and Steve Harris-like bass lines. It's difficult not to be bowled over by the sheer quality on offer.
Track Listing:
01. Moria
02. Drop The Bomb
03. The Ones We Left Behind
04. Reflections Of Evil
05. In For The Kill
06. Together We Fight
07. The Dark Side Of Life
08. Brothers Of War
09. Message From Hell
10. In The Dead Of Night
11. Unholy Cross
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