Review by Felix on October 14, 2024.

Next year “Bloodline” celebrates its 20th anniversary. That’s remarkable because the songs were already recorded and mixed in 1997 / 1998. But sometimes good things take time and “Bloodline” is definitely a good thing. One can say that it is just another Svartsyn album, but this is exactly the explanation for its strength. The usual approach of mastermind Ornias is filled to the brim with enjoyable aspects. Let me go deeper into the details for the poor ones who are not familiar with his project.

First of all – and one can consider this as an ambivalent fact – the single songs follow the same approach. If we ignore the short outro on the ninth position, there are no significant differences in speed or structure, in vehemence or atmosphere. It is possible that I already wrote it in a previous review for one of his albums, but Ornias always enjoys taking us on a long walk through the darkest Swedish forests, where the crowns of the closely spaced trees barely let a ray of light through. His guitar lines lead the songs and give them a direction, no doubt about it, but it is never an obvious route they take. They prefer to move slowly forward in a circular motion. Among other things, this means that you will not find any truly catchy sections here. But don't worry, there is a wonderful compensation for this (supposed) shortcoming. While “Bloodline” progresses unceasingly, it creates an almost fathomless depth.

Ornias’ vocals do not add new colors to the genre. His demonic nagging is fully aligned with the unwritten laws of black metal. Furthermore, the production is also a typical one for the genre (and for this project). Its pretty blurred sound is one more confusing building block which makes it a bit difficult to find orientation on “Bloodline”. The bass guitar has nothing to say, the drums have a tough time against the guitars and even the voice is not on a par with them. This may sound deficient, but it pays tribute to Ornias' world of sound and thought in the best possible way. Moreover, this production leaves no doubt about the quality of Svartsyn’s guitar lines – most of them are simply excellent and therefore “Bloodline” is among the best albums (or maybe even the best one) of the band. I guess it is okay to use the word “band”, because the booklet features two further guys, Kolgrim and Draugea, even though I guess their contribution was as meaningless as one of the two dudes who were shown as Quorthon’s (R.I.P.) sidekicks on “Blood Fire Death”.

Despite the blurred mix and the nested, pretty complex guitar lines, the songs do not lack dynamic. Already the opener and the immediately following title track can rely on this element. These songs aren’t better than the other ones, but this is precisely their strength: on the one hand, they leave a massive impact, on the other hand, they do not promise too much. The looping riffing of “Vampyric Sleep” is just as inspiring as his short part with atmospheric keyboards – and the following tracks also do not disappoint in any way due to their compactness, bitterness, and grimness. The only dubious tracks appear in the so-called bonus section. They are probably actually good, but a deaf guy or a Neanderthal man was responsible for the sound. Anyway, the regular album itself is highly recommendable. And I admit I am jealous of “Bloodline”. As mentioned at the beginning, its 20th birthday is yet to come, and I am older than the oldest metal album. Shit.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Felix on October 11, 2019.

Vomitory are dead and their bones rot on the colossal cemetery of death metal. I still mourn for them, especially with regard to the more or less disappointing debut of Cut Up, the band that gave two members of Vomitory a new home. Anyway, their discography houses some jewels and in a retrospective view, one realizes that Redemption marked the beginning of the best era of the Swedish destroyers. It's a phenomenal work with two fantastic successors.

The playtime of roughly 33 minutes gives a first indication and the songs themselves confirm that the punchy album does not have a single gram of fat. Without any detours, the musicians fire eight cluster bombs into the crowd. The songs come directly to the point and the sound technicians have done a good job during the recording session. Voluminous, pretty low-tuned guitars dominate the appearance of the songs. Vomitory do not strive for new records in terms of brutality, deep sounds or velocity; nevertheless, their bone-breaking way of proceeding knows no mercy. The band is also not interested in countless technical gimmicks, but the guys have written furious, smashing pieces that are enriched with a slightly morbid touch from time to time. Moreover, the guys have a talent to combine their heavyweight approach with an almost irresistible flow. The songs are always comprehensible - and the excellent guitar parts are anything else but a matter of course with regard to the fact that the drummer and the bass player have written the music.

Maybe the dudes were inspired by the nearly smooth configuration of "Ashes of Mourning Life", a cover version of Macabre. The song fits perfectly the remaining content of the album. It is kicked off by some explosive tones before an infectious riff drives the swift verses. Once again, the guys do not offer ultra-speed, but their level of heaviness, aggression and velocity is beyond all doubt. And the fact that the band does not try to impress the listener with an overdose of technical skills does not mean that the songs are boring or predictable. Vomitory have added the necessary amount of ideas, variety and passion in order to release a strong output. All songs can rely on a very solid compositional fundament and they convey a fatal touch. Needless to say, that non-typical death metal elements do not show up (as long as blast beats can be categorized as a more or less usual stylistic device of the lethal genre.) Instead, Vomitory handle the proven means in a very clever way. Surely, the deep vocals are monotonous, but they fulfil their function brilliantly.

Redemption works as a whole. Pieces such as "Forever in Gloom" or the title track do not hesitate to show the pure force of the sub-genre, but this is not to say that any kind of letdown affects the overall impression. Each and every song is an unstoppable steamroller and therefore it is difficult to find points of criticism. Okay, the production is a little bit blurred, but nevertheless great. Moreover, some might say that one or two songs fail to develop an easily recognizable identity. But I don't care about these trivialities. Redemption is an energetic, vibrant and majestic yet violent work which separates the men from the boys.

Rating: 9.3 out of 10