BLOODRED
“THE RAVEN’S SHADOW”
Album Review by Syl Pdll

9/10

Bloodred is the solo project by German multi-instrumentalist Ron Merz. The Raven’s Shadow is his second album and he has had the collaboration of Joris Nijenhuis (Atrocity / Leaves’s Eyes) on drums and Alexander Krull (Atrocity / Leaves’ Eyes) in the production and mastering being a formula already with his debut album Nemesis four years ago. The theme of this album revolves around the symbolism represented by the crow that represents some mythological landscapes through music, whose proposal has called it Blackened Death Metal that presents an interesting fusion between Black and Death Metal with some melodic elements.

The Raven’s Shadow is the namesake song from this second work by Ron Merz and presents an atmosphere characterized by darkness, alluding to the symbolism behind the figure of the raven. As the song progresses, we can find some melodic elements through the guitar chords that are reinforced by the force of the double bass drum and that present a well-achieved result when combined with the guttural voices.

The second song is Inmense Hall Of Agony whose beginning is characterized by the aggressiveness in the execution of the guitar and the drums that is reinforced by the vocal performance. Undoubtedly, it has been a success to have the participation of Joris Nijenhuis because he shows his technique throughout this song and that transports you to the coldness that distinguishes the Nordic lands, as this album also addresses the figure of the crow as a theme within Norse mythology.

Hör Den Tod specified one of the first advances of this second album published on his social networks. With a more melodic influence to the comparison of the previous songs we can evaluate a greater maturity in their sound than the comparison of their debut album. Merz’s performance near the end of the song is incredibly powerful.

Blood On Thy Hands pays tribute to the sound that the band of Swedish origin Hypocrisy relative to its beginnings, so we can have a notable influence of Death Metal in instrumental and vocal terms. This is one of the heaviest songs on this album and it leaves out the melodic chords that have been part of his musical proposal, making it a more dynamic album.

Raise The Mound presents a Death Metal oriented start that is distinguished by the power of Joris Nijenhuis’ double bass drum that stands out with the guttural voices of Ron Merz. The presence of melodic elements makes an appearance in a way of accompaniment throughout the song; however, it becomes more noticeable in the guitar solo that is presented almost at the end of it.

The next song is We Who Goled The North where the guitar plays a special role in the execution of chords that fuse black metal with the melodic part. This song places us in a historical context located by wars and the influence of religion in the political and social sphere. Ron Merz’s vocal ability to conjugate different ranges of throaty voices provides an interesting and well-accomplished result.

Shadow Warrior is the song that represents the musical fusion of Blackened Death Metal because we can find the aggressiveness and power in the execution of the drums on a rhythmic and melodic basis by the guitar that combines with the guttural voices set by Ron Merz and that, in a way, he is not preparing for the final stretch of this album.

The penultimate song on this album is Under The Sun, the introduction of which corrects a guitar load that is perhaps reminiscent of the years when black metal began to gain notoriety as a musical genre. As the song progresses, we can different rhythm changes for a slightly more melodic base highlighting that dark side that has been raised throughout the different songs on this album.

The Northstar Whispers (To The Blacksmiths Son) takes up the atmosphere of darkness that was created at the beginning of the album and that we moved to Nordic lands that through the combination of acoustic and electric guitars create a melodic base that is present in the Song length. With a vocal performance geared more towards Death Metal they further accentuate that tone of darkness hinting at the song’s title. Being one of the longest songs on this album it has been a great ending to this second album by Ron Merz.

The Raven’s Shadow denotes a greater maturity in the Bloodred sound compared to their debut album. It is a Blackened Death Metal proposal that will be worth listening to as they create an interesting fusion resulting from Black and Death influences as well as the combination of melodic elements that give this work greater strength. Each song denotes the versatility in instrumental and vocal terms that will capture the listener’s attention coupled with the creation of environments characterized by the darkness and coldness that distinguishes this music scene. Great job.

TRACKLIST

The Raven’s Shadow
Immense Hall Of Agony
Hör Den Tod
Blood On Thy Hands
Raise The Mound
We Who Ruled The North
Shadow Warrior
Under This Sun
The Northstar Whispers (To The Blacksmiths Son)

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