Altar of Patrons #16

Band: Bloodkill
Title: Throne of Control
Release date: 19 January 2021
Country: India

How about some thrash/groove metal from Mumbai? Here we go with BLOODKILL, and as this is the new pick for my monthly Altar of Patrons shout-out, you bet they rock. Their description on Facebook is short: “Journey has just begun…” Indeed: What started as a thrash metal band in 2016, developed over the years with a few line-up changes, elements of heavy and groove metal were added to the music. On 19 January 2021, the quintet released their debut “Throne of Control”, which grabbed my attention thanks to its eye-catching cover artwork. 

The album has an underlying story of how things are bitterly different from what they might look at the surface. It is about the presence of duality in everything, like two sides of the same coin, corrupted governance, and narcissism.

After a short intro, the band kicks in with “Blindead Circus” and the first powerful riff. The music is straight forward, heavy, and the kind of screamed vocals fit well to context and sound. Over the next songs, they keep this energy: “False Face” is very groovy, feet and a head start to move automatically. With “3B”, things slow down a bit, but hold tension, while “Unite and Conquer” includes some nice shredding.

The second half brings more variations in tempo and song-writing, and the guitars come up with some cool solo parts. My favorite is “For I am the Messiah”, which speaks about narcissists who manipulate the vulnerable masses under the guise of the greater good, by proclaiming to be the godmen and saviours. The anger of the lyrics is well transported through the music. The title track closes BLOODKILL’s first effort, once more with full power, and is another highlight here.

All-together, “Throne of Control” is a solid debut, delivering all ingredients for fans of thrash and groove metal. The message of the lyrics is well transported in the music. With seven songs between three and six minutes, it’s not a long, but very short-whiled album thanks to the lack of fillers, and worth to crank it up. As their earlier mentioned journey has just begun, I’m looking forward to following where it will lead them in the future. Katha

Band Links
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube

Track List
1. The Unveiling
2. Blindead Circus
3. False Face
4. 3B
5. Unite and Conquer
6. Horrorscope
7. For I am the Messiah
8. Throne of Control

Line-Up
Anirudh Gollapudi – Vocals
Vishwas Shetty – Rhythm Guitar
Shubham Khare – Lead Guitar
Yash Wadkar – Bass
Jay Patil – Drums

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