Blood Eagle: To Ride in Blood & Bathe in Greed I-III (2019)

Blood Eagle are a death metal band from Denmark, formed by past members of Volbeat, Mnemic, Hatesphere, Illdisposed and Raunchy. In 2013 guitarists Franz Hellboss and Mircea Gabriel Eftemie decided to form a band with some of their mates to combine their influences of Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, Morbid Angel and smidgen of Mastodon, and it took until 2019 for the debut album to be released. However, in a somewhat unusual manner it was decided not to release an album as such, but instead three ‘To Ride In Blood and Bathe In Greed’ EP’s were released on consecutive months towards the end of 2019, all with the same cover art just in different colours. ‘I’ has three songs for a total of nine minutes, ‘II’ is four songs at fourteen while ‘III’ contains three songs for a total of twelve which combine to give us a ten track 35 minute long album.

The Napalm Death influences are very much the modern version of the band as opposed to the classic, and it is Bolt Thrower (in particular) combined with Morbid Angel which give this band the power and presence, although I can also hear the Mastodon groove coming through, especially ‘Leviathan’ period. Produced by Tue Madsen (Meshuggah, Behemoth, The Haunted), this is a very heavy very bottom end death metal album which is both classic and modern. This is music which is very much in your face but also contains plenty of space and movement so that although it is incredibly intense in some ways, it is actually quite light in others. It is music which will appeal to those into death metal, but also those who don’t like their music quite that extreme, and whether it is Madsen’s influences or it came from the band themselves, but The Haunted are another obvious musical influences.

It is rather gimmicky for the album to have been released in this style, but this is how Dickens used to release his books, a few chapters at a time, and if it was good enough for him…What it does mean is that it is possible to try one of the EP’s without forking out for the whole album, which is a good way of hearing a new band. I have been playing all three back to back, and that is how it works best, as a real album. Solid, heavy, very strong indeed.

Rating: 8/10