Review by Chris Pratl on January 14, 2020.

In the overcrowded dance hall that is death metal, there comes, on rare occasion, a band that manages to nestle into the crevices of the genre and produce something well worth hearing. Often the band(s) manage to take an already-written pattern and augment it ever slightly so as to carve themselves a notch in the medium. Sadly, these bands are few and far between for my aged ears, but. . . every now and then. . . .

Blood Oath comes by way of the ol' Union Jack and slices into the din with a pretty substantial slab of old school death metal that mixes some thrash elements with its own brand of tempestuous metal music. This sophomore effort titled Infernum Rex Diabolus cuts the rhetorical fat off the bone and just offers up a simple, yet effective palate that is both well-produced and effectively brutal without overloading the magazine. From certain sonic areas, I can hear some similarities to my hometown's Cardiac Arrest, which is about as high a compliment as I can muster. Death metal is a pretty confined space, especially with the current resurgence of OSDM making its return to form known at every turn (some worse than others), but these guys don't seem to follow the current trend of drowning in otherwise nostalgic mediocrity for its own sake.

As a hard-boiled guy of aged introspection (AKA borrowed elitism in spades), I usually find myself over-analyzing some releases to their proverbial death, which is my blessing and curse these days. That said, the same chasm of musical familiarity Blood Oath treads is one of rather engaging, hook-laden goodness. When the term “riffs-for-days” usually pops up in random posts on social media, I tend to mentally gravitate towards music found in the CD's tracks “Lycanthropic Bloodlust” or “Angels to Some, Demons to Others”; the songs here just trample evenly along well-worn ground and manage to forge new footprints in the cold, loose earth. The guitar work herein is also pretty rooted in the ancestry of the accepted masters, painting rather colorful pictures of violent galloping with perfectly-crafted slowdowns in just the right areas. I really enjoy the overall swaying between the two mighty oaks of thrash and death, a distance all too often marred by dis-ingenuousness or outright inability; these guys manage to not only rise to the occasion but dance carefully along the slight lines between two already-polarized genres.

For all their worth, Blood Oath cuts through the causal mire and designates its due place among the legions in both small and large bursts of intensity and the aforementioned “riffs-for-days”. I also applaud the band's attention to lyrics that are both stimulating and well-thought-out, a seemingly starved area these days. I understand the adage of less-being-more, but that doesn't mean stultifying the audience to the point of pallid stupors. Go all in, or go the hell home! These guys did just that, and then some.

Check these guys out where and when you can – they deliver the goods very nicely.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Brian on February 8, 2015.

One of the most obscure bands in doom metal's rich history is New York's Blood Farmers. They formed in 1989, released 2 demos 1991's Permanent Brain Damage and 1994's Bury the Living, Harvest the Dead, then in 1995 released their self titled debut. Mixing Sabbath inspired traditional doom with 1970's horror film themes became their trademark. After a very good and extremely overlooked first effort, they disappeared, giving them a well deserved cult status. Fast forward 19 years, Blood Farmers are back and in a big way.

Headless Eyes was released in March of last year and though I normally don't review albums that are already a year old, I felt compelled to let you know about this amazing release. I purchased my copy on vinyl and would highly recommend this format to those of you that haven't picked it up yet as well as to those of you who have the CD. It is the same cover design as the CD, but much bigger and comes with a really cool inlay of posters from 70's horror flicks.

I pull the album out of the sleeve, place it on the turntable and drop the needle. As the appropriately titled "Gut Shot" begins, it's low end punch hits hard. This is the tradition Blood Farmers formula, Dave "Depraved" Szulkin's thick guitar tone (he also provides the bass), Eli Brown's masterful vocals and new member Tad Leger's Thunderous beats culminate in a sound so heavy it's weight can be felt collapsing your chest. This continues with the over ten minute long title track and when Eli belts out "I am twisted, I am sick" the album really starts to dig it's claws in and take over the listener. The final track on side one really shows the diversity of the band. "The Creeper" is an Instrumental that has some Pink Floyd guitar tones, think "Dogs", mixed in with the heavy as hell 70's inspired groove riffs. This shows the bands psychedelic side. I turn the record over fully satisfied with the first 20 minutes. Side two starts out much the same, true Blood Farmers meaty doom riffs and the rhythm sections absolutely marvelous low end. I love the albums final two tracks. The epic, psychedelic, rocking 10 minute instrumental "Night of the Sorcerers" and a cover of the David Hess classic "The Road Leads to Nowhere" from the Wes Craven Film 'The Last House on the Left'. The prior is the albums best track, beginning with a Goblinesque approach. Eerie melodies and foreboding keyboards make the nightmare real. Blood Farmers paint a picture that something terrible is about to happen. This song is extremely well crafted and builds suspense with it's soundtrack vibe before crushing you with mighty colossal doom riffs and soulful guitar solos. This is the perfect prelude to the perfect closer. Their cover of "The Road Leads to Nowhere" is top notch. Acoustic guitars and Eli's hauntingly beautiful vocals are a perfect. The rendition of the Hess classic is spiced up in Blood Farmers fashion with melancholic gloomy guitars and amazing psychedelic solos.

With Headless Eyes, Blood Farmers have created one of the best traditional doom albums in years. It's much more than that though, They also delve into psychedelia, 1970's hard rock and splash in fair amounts of horror film soundtrack qualities. The album clocks in at just under 45 minutes, making it succeed where so many doom albums fail, leaving you wanting more as opposed to wishing it would have ended 20 minutes sooner.The production makes this a complete album. The first thing you notice is how big and full the low end is, then how perfect the instruments are separated in the mix. It's not too clean, but not muddy at all, it has a warm feel that makes for the perfect atmosphere. Had I heard this album last year it would have almost certainly made my year end list. Headless Eyes is an amazing comeback, let's just hope we don't have to wait another 19 years for the next Blood Farmers album.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10