Blistering Records
2009
1. Sweet Dreams of Madness
2. Dominion 5
3. Take One
4. Tabula Rasa
5. Night Touches You
6. Tabula Rasa, Pt. 2
7. Plague Doctor
8. Master of My Dreams
9. Twisted Kind of Fate
10. All Rights Reserved
11. The Crying Kitten
After a promising debut, Bloodbound completely dropped the ball with their second album which was largely dragged down by an extremely mediocre singer, but also by some lackluster songwriting. Coming back with their third album, Tabula Rasa, the band has been rejoined by singer Urban Breed and seems intent on getting back to what worked for them. Considering the quality of the second album though, I do have some skepticism going into this one.
Listening to Tabula Rasa, it wasn't exactly what I expected in terms of it sounding like the first or second album. Certainly, I do hear some similarities to the first in terms of vocals and power metal stylings, but the approach has changed a bit. The galloping Maiden worship of the first album is almost entirely gone and replaced by something a little less typical power metal. Also, the choruses are big once again, but not as happy and overblown and instead have more of a melodic rock ring to them. While I liked the first album, different is not always a bad thing and I like the more riffy sound of the guitar on this one and the album seems to have more of it's own flair than the Maiden model. The funny thing is I hear some similarities to someone else's band who has left the Maiden sound behind... Blaze Bayley.
If you like heavy power metal with some nice sharp riffs that builds to melodic choruses than this might be what you're looking for. This is different from the debut album, but a solid listen throughout and I'd recommend it to fans of the debut and anything Urban Breed really. The guy is an amazing singer and anything he lends his voice to is always that much better.
Highlights: Tabula Rasa, Master Of My Dreams, Dominion 5, Take One
Rating - 4.0/5
2. Dominion 5
3. Take One
4. Tabula Rasa
5. Night Touches You
6. Tabula Rasa, Pt. 2
7. Plague Doctor
8. Master of My Dreams
9. Twisted Kind of Fate
10. All Rights Reserved
11. The Crying Kitten
After a promising debut, Bloodbound completely dropped the ball with their second album which was largely dragged down by an extremely mediocre singer, but also by some lackluster songwriting. Coming back with their third album, Tabula Rasa, the band has been rejoined by singer Urban Breed and seems intent on getting back to what worked for them. Considering the quality of the second album though, I do have some skepticism going into this one.
Listening to Tabula Rasa, it wasn't exactly what I expected in terms of it sounding like the first or second album. Certainly, I do hear some similarities to the first in terms of vocals and power metal stylings, but the approach has changed a bit. The galloping Maiden worship of the first album is almost entirely gone and replaced by something a little less typical power metal. Also, the choruses are big once again, but not as happy and overblown and instead have more of a melodic rock ring to them. While I liked the first album, different is not always a bad thing and I like the more riffy sound of the guitar on this one and the album seems to have more of it's own flair than the Maiden model. The funny thing is I hear some similarities to someone else's band who has left the Maiden sound behind... Blaze Bayley.
If you like heavy power metal with some nice sharp riffs that builds to melodic choruses than this might be what you're looking for. This is different from the debut album, but a solid listen throughout and I'd recommend it to fans of the debut and anything Urban Breed really. The guy is an amazing singer and anything he lends his voice to is always that much better.
Highlights: Tabula Rasa, Master Of My Dreams, Dominion 5, Take One
Rating - 4.0/5
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