Bloodkill were born out of the 80s thrash taking inspiration from bands like Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Kreator, Exodus etc. Their self produced debut album ‘Throne Of Control’, takes what these guys have learnt from their forebears’s and reshapes it for the 21s century. Old school metal in fresh modern hands.
The band comments:
”Throne of Control has an underlying story of how things are bitterly different from what it looks on the surface. Two sides of the same coin, narcissism, corrupted governance and the presence of duality in everything is what we talk about with our debut full-length album.
‘The Unveiling’ sits as an intro expected from artists in this genre. Creeping synths and epic drumming set a cinematic eerie feel ‘Blindead Circus’ blasts out of the intro all big chords and we are introduced to the growl of Anirudh Gollapudi. Who manages to stay on the right side of unhinged throughout this album. The track has a great breakdown and we get to hear the Khare charge out of the distortion with some superb whiddling. After all thrash isn’t thrash with out some insane guitar work. Its not all about fast palm muted chords though
‘False Face’ doesn’t let go as the band thrash out another fast paced track. You can begin to appreciate where each member sits on this record. The guys have done a great job in separating the instruments. Perhaps a touch more of the drums would suit as Jay Patil brings some seriously impressive fills. The vocals have a more punky feel as Gollapundi spits of some impressive venom. Again Khare steals the show with an epic solo.
‘3B’ is dominated by a grooved up riff this track sits as a call to arms and sees the vocals go full death. Thundering drums and even the bass manages to break the surface, Yash Wadkar laying down some pleasing bass noddling. Vishwas Shetty keeping things ticking along why Khare breaks free again. Shetty sits there in the mix providing an important base for Khare and Gollapundi to spring board off and really shine.
A great interchange of drums and guitar kicks track ‘Unite And Conquer’ off and it flies along long a runaway train yet manages to stay on track due to the astonishing musicianship of this quintet. Khare manages to create a song with in a song with his solo. weaving through various passages and copying the main riff
A chilled vibe starts ‘Horrorscope’ but is shattered by the death growl and a stomping riff. The fades and a rifle quick riff takes over and Gollapundi clams back down and fits in well with the soundscape created by the other guys. After a demonic spoken word section the album is dragged screaming to the finish with Khare setting his fretboard on fire.
The absolute masterpiece of this album has to be ‘For I Am The Messiah’. From standalone shouted vocals, the track then delves into the more punk aspects of the band. With a grooved up drum led verses and sharp short quick vocal stabs. Crushing rhythms bring in an Indian flavoured guitar solo that is one of the best metal solos I have heard in some time. The lasts segment
How do you go from ‘For I Am The Messiah’? Well you don’t. Wahet you do is drop a track like ‘Throne of Control’. A full on headbangers paradise and ends this album on an absolute high. Full on metal mode with sharp lyrical delivery and utterly insane drumming from Patil. If you weren’t impressed by Khare after the rest of this album. The last 30 seconds of this song will make your mind.
These guys where their inspirations on their sleeves with the inclusion of musical tidbits from the thrash genre littered through out the album. The album opening with cinematic swirling of synths and strings and colossal drum beat to the breakdown in ‘Blindead Circus’. Then there are the lyrics that float through death metal on ‘3B’ or more punky with short sharp stabs on ‘False Face’ and the opening of ‘For I Am The Messiah’ with its stand alone shouted challenges before the metal drops.
As far as a self produced albums go this is a stellar effort. The production is so clear you can easily hear each instruments part in the song. And you will want to as these boys can play. Lead guitarist Shubham Khare has to take the prize for man of the album though. His riffs and solos are what moves this album up from being another generic heavy metal album, to one that sits in equal stature with some of the greatest works from the metal genre. Simply put. The album is off the charts brilliant.
Remember these guys names. You heard it here first.
Anirudh Gollapudi – Vocals
Vishwas Shetty – Rhythm Guitar
Shubham Khare – Lead Guitar
Yash Wadkar – Bass
Jay Patil – Drums
Check out the track ‘For I Am The Messiah’, below
Find out more about the band via their Facebook
Grab yourself a copy of the album here
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