You’d think a post black metal band featuring Rob Morey of Fallujah and young upcoming drummer Alex Bent who has performed for Arkaik, Brain Drill, Battlecross and Dragonlord would get a little more attention considering Fallujah’s popularity and post black metal is still relatively popular. But here we are and the band’s debut album, self released in 2015 has been picked up by Belgium’s Neuropa Records, an obscure, more ambient industrial type label.

And it’s a shame as Bloodwork is a really good record. It’s a complex, intelligent but vitriolic record that lies somewhere between Cobalt, Deafheaven, Celeste,  Nux Vomica and and Downfall of Gaia. It’s got a little bit of everything from straight up teeth baring, bristling black/crust (openers “Blackout” and throbbing “Servant of Filth”) to some more  introspective reflective moments (“Becoming the Faintest Light”, “The Seventh Wall” with some female vocals a la Fallujah),  and some nicely done shimmering melodies “(Clawing at the Rot”) and more menacing, slower moments (“Downpour”). In fact, the album seems to get a more experimental and varied as it goes on from the fairly basic opener.

The effort sounds nothing like any of the band members other projects, and that’s a real testament to both. The songs are long without being overly drawn out, the vocals are a mix of blackened shriek and deeper, gruffer growls,the production is powerful and clear with with ample bite. The aforementioned melodies are not ‘happy’, jangly, Alcest-y ones either, or even delicate post black/shoe gaze but rather dripping with raw emotion and terse, urgent harmonies as heard on the all too short standouts “Adore” and “Stay”, which sounds like So Hideous, without the strings, but they along with instrumental closer “Beyond the Faintest Light” certainly seem like they were cut from a different writing session than the album’s earlier tracks.

The end result is a fine album that deserves more attention, and not just for who is in it, but for the output as Bloodworship delivers an excellent, emotive take on atmospheric black metal/crust that really caught my ear and kept my attention, and it should for you as well.

[Visit the band's website]

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