By Blood Alone - Seas of blood 3/5
Reviewed: 6-13-08
Tracklist:
1. Serpentarius
2. Wants me dead
3. Undead friend
4. Nidhogg
5. Lovely lies
6. Seas of blood
7. Deny yourself
8. Little lady lillit
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By Blood Alone's debut 'Seas of blood' has been one of the more interesting CDs I've picked up this year. The band is female fronted (by Cruella - with no last name given), but they're musically a bit hard to describe; while they're mostly embedded in gothic metal, sometimes the guitar work is typical of a traditional/heavy metal band and this adds a unique twist to the music. So band comparisons are tough, but they do remind me of Diluvium in a few spots, and just like Diluvium, By Blood Alone is very melodic and the vocals are of the pleasant variety.
In addition to an interesting rhythm section, the band incorporates some piano and violin parts, as well as the usual keyboard. Actually, the keys are quite high in the mix, but I've learned that's what the band intended, so the keys are almost like a 2nd guitar. Nothing wrong with this however (unless you dislike keyboards in metal), but it's certainly worth mentioning. Regarding the vocals and the music as a whole, everything flows nicely and nothing feels out of place, but the CD overall is definitely of the slow/mid-paced and melodic type (without speed), as opposed to an ultra-exciting, aggressive or bombastic CD.
Although there are only 8 songs, most of them are long, so the CD has a normal running time. I feel the song lengths are necessary to properly complete what the band is trying to accomplish, but I'm afraid a lot of metal fans will get bored. Personally, I find 'Seas of blood' to be a thoroughly enjoyable and consistent CD (there are some wonderful melodies), though I'm not sure why I like the surprising closer "Little lady lillit" as much as I do. It's basically a short nursery rhyme that's led by a piano and features dual female vocals in harmony. Though I always crave this song (it has a beautiful melody line), it's not one that I can sing to my kids (hehehe), as it's about an evil little girl. Still, I can't help but like it.
All in all, I'd say that 'Seas of blood' is a promising start for the band and I look forward to their 2nd CD. I don't think this will appeal to a large group of metal fans unfortunately, but if you're into slow/mid-paced and melodic CDs with pleasant female vocals, you might be surprised at how enjoyable this can be.
CLINT
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