Guitarist Ross the Boss has certainly kept himself busy since leaving Manowar all those years ago, with his other band DeathDealer and his solo group making sure to keep the molten axe-slinger consistently on everyones radar. By Blood Sworn is his latest solo outing for AFM Records, and he has put together a very solid line-up that includes vocalist Marc Lopes, Mike LePond (Symphony X) on bass, and Lance Barnewold on drums. Hardly a ballad to be found on By Blood Sworn of course (well, "Faith of the Fallen" is close), which will please Ross' fans for sure, letting the guitar legend crank out one crunchy metal riff after another. He's found a perfect foil in Lopes, whose wailing delivering is a cross between Tim 'Ripper' Owens and Ronnie James Dio, his high pitched screams and guttural roar cut through lethal metal tunes such as "This is Vengeance", "Devil's Day", and the kick ass title track. The grinding, near doom laden "Lilith" is another winner here, complete with some riffs that approach vintage Danzig territory, while the fun blues-metal of "Mother of Horrors" and the near thrash attack of "Fistful of Hate" close out the album in fine fashion.
Though Ross the Boss certainly delivers plenty of gargantuan riffs and blazing solos throughout By Blood Sworn, this is truly a band effort from start to finish and everyone completely pulls their weight. Classic metal fans take note and do not miss this one!
Track Listing
1. By Blood Sworn
2. Among the Bones
3. This is Vengeance
4. We Are the Night
5. Faith of the Fallen
6. Devil’s Day
7. Lilith
8. Play Among the Godz
9. Mother of Horrors
10. Fistful of Hate
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