Active since 2000, Finnish quintet Bloodride aren’t riding the millionth wave of new thrash seeping through every pore of the scene. Having the opportunity to take in copious amounts of their debut album, Crowned in Hell, released in 2011, the follow up Bloodmachine appears to possess more of that veteran knowledge and mid-tempo crunch which could aid in gaining more of a foothold over other ‘one-trick’ ponies.
Led by the low, gurgling raspy roar of vocalist Jyrki Leskinen, the 10 songs on this record run the gamut from mid-tempo, thick riff efforts like “Defiled Within” and the title cut to the speedier, blade-slicing “Massacre My Icons” and percussive monster “Satan’s Luck.” For a change the bass work of Esa Pennala gains as much of a sonic impact as the guitars and drums, and his presence is very much like D.D. Verdi or Frankie Bello where they help to improve spasmodic body movement and incessant, head down banging.
Their sound is a melding of Teutonic rawness and the occasional Bay Area meets Canadian triplet meets ‘war dance’ riffage: so I’m sure you’ll pick up accents of Destruction in “Taken Over,” just as much as Dark Angel or Holy Terror for “Fight the Fear.” Keeping the arrangements tidy in the 2:44- 4:37 range means no part ever overstays its welcome – and at 36 minutes doesn’t require much beyond commute time aural ingestion for full digestion.
Bloodride will not win any originality thrash style points – and vocally there could be slight improvement as the one-dimensional screams make interest wane – but overall Bloodmachine should satisfy a lot of the underground hordes.