Book Of The Dead [CD]

3.5 stars. With the departure of supreme vocalist Urban Breed I was reluctant to purchase Bloodbound's second release "Book of the Dead". However, a good replacement singer has been recruited in Michael Bormann. While he never reaches the majestic level of his predecessor he is certainly capable of Power Metal vocalizations without embarassing himself; though there was never a moment on the CD where I stared in awe at my stereo like I did with Urban Breed carrying the songs. Don't expect a howling scream at any point to equal "Fight for the king and the crown and the saaaaaaaah-on!!!!" from "For the King" off their last CD, "Nosferatu". Regardless, the music holds true to form with frequent odes to Iron Maiden, though not as obvious this time around, the musicianship is all-around professional and completely solid. Newcomers should seek out "Nosferatu" first, and those already enamored with that release should sample a few tracks to see how much Urban Breed will be missed and then act accordingly. I'm not disappointed at all with my purchase, though I'm not in awe of anything here either. (Edit: After a few more spins the absence of Urban Breed on vocals has become glaringly apparent. The musicians show up and pull off some catchy sections but the new singer lacks the power to take this release to a higher level. This is not a bad release, by any means, but it will be relegated to "coaster" status long before I tire of their first, and far superior debut album, "Nosferatu".)

This is how "bloodbound" is defined on the band's label:

A term that originates from the dark ages when men would make an oath to each other called "blood oath" where they would cut their hands and then shake, mixing the blood. Each man then carries the other's blood, linking the two, like blood brothers. A bloodbound can never be broken and will follow you into the afterlife and beyond...

After their amazing debut album Nosferatu with Urban Breed, Bloodbound went through several vocalist changes, from former Memento Mori and Wuthering Heights singer Kristian Andren (so funny considering Breed had replaced Andren in Tad Morose), to The Storyteller's Johan Sohlberg, and Baltimoore's Jorgen Andersson. Finally though, German-born Michael Bormann got the gig. You might remember him from bands like Jaded Heart and Rain if you enjoy melodic hard rock with ample doses of AOR thrown in. Bormann has a deep, unique voice that becomes particularly haunting on the more laidback, ballady material. Bloodbound is possibly his first attempt at singing power metal, and as much as I like him as a singer, the songs aren't suited that well to his style. That said, he had no part in writing any of these pieces; he just filled in at the last minute and recorded the vocal parts -- given that, he's done a great job.

Book of the Dead unlike its predecessor stays safely in a more European power metal vibe, utilising less keyboards, and building on fast twin guitar harmonies, loud double bass drums (with new drummer Pelle Akerlind), and mostly catchy, melodic choruses. Some of the songs are quite alike with their wordless backing harmonies on pieces like "The Tempter", "Black Shadows", and "Flames of Purgatory", perhaps the only song that breaks the flow of the otherwise homogenous album. This one is nicely decorated with a folky vocal melody a la Wuthering Heights, some nice acoustic parts, a nifty lead solo, and the expected harmony vocals murmuring the main melody without using any lyrics. In a live setting, they will surely get the crowds going, but three songs based on alike ideas on the same CD is getting a bit excessive.

Given Bormann's background, there are also some more hard rock-styled pieces: "Lord of Battle" is like power metal sung by a great, Lande-like vocalist while the chorus of "Turn to Stone" will be glued to your mind for days. The acoustic ballad "Black Heart" showcases how amazing a singer Bormann really is, evoking bands like the underrated Norwegian rockers Return as well as Push and his former acts. The album hides its longest piece "Seven Angels" in track eleven, starting with a slick acoustic bit and building to a mesmerizing melodic metal staple with cool rhythm shifts. While the musicianship is still tight, the amount of guitar leads and driving bass crescendos have seen a significant drop, perhaps in order to fit the more direct, in-your-face styles of the songs.

Time will show how Bloodbound will do without Breed at the helm, and some may be disappointed at the lack of variety put on offer on this disc, but by its own standards, Book of the Dead is still worthy of a listen.

"Book of the dead" is the second album by Swedish power metal band "Bloodbound" originally released in 2007. "Bloodbound" are often characterized as blackened power metal due to their corpse-paint image on their earliest photo shoots and devil-centric themes. While the band image has moved away from black metal, their fascination with the biblical concept of the devil is ever-present. Having said that, the lyrics seem to be based on stories of the Bible, being mostly narrative rather than expressing opinion or picking a side.

The line up features established "Bloodbound" members Tomas Olsson and Henrik Olsson on guitars, bassist Fredrik Bergh, drummer Pelle Akerlind with new-studio only entry- iconic German singer Michael Bormann. While the singer is mostly known for his melodic rock/AOR works, his adaptability is very much in favor of the band and fronts this effort flawlessly delivering the appropriate heavy/power metal tone.

Beyond vocals, the album features a totally devastating rhythm section that manages to sound interesting throughout the album while the guitars retain a fair balance between riffs and melodic lines, both in no short supply. Still "Bloodbound"s greatest advantage is found on their choruses; you really can not forget choruses like "Sign of the devil", "The tempter" and "Book of the dead" and this is indeed a memorable album. Overall, a very strong power metal album with fairly dark orientation that succeeds in living its mark, no doubt.