Album Review: Bloed – ‘t Regent for #FutureRelics
Band: Bloed
Title: ‘t Regent
Label: De Pankraker Records
Release date: July 04th, 2025
Country: The Netherlands
Format reviewed: Tape
Album Review: Bloed – ‘t Regent for #FutureRelics via De Pankraker Records by Consanguineus
When Blasphemy’s first demo made its way to Europe in the late ’80s through tape trading, reactions were divided. What some listeners heard as a revolutionary, raw assault on the senses, others dismissed as uncontrolled chaos. The grotesque sonic storms of these Canadian War Metal pioneers resembled a maniacal fusion of Grindcore and Black Metal, but it was the uncompromising violence and utter contempt for convention that stood out. No melody, no subtlety — just pure, chaotic destruction. Yet over time, this style would slowly gain followers, and today Blasphemy is recognized as a genre-defining force.
Fast-forward to 2025. From the streets of Amsterdam comes another declaration of war, this time in the form of the demonic demo by Bloed. What began as a vague rumour circulating in the underground suddenly took shape when it was announced that this mysterious four-piece would appear at the Pankraker Festival — a gathering of all things raw, uncompromising, and ominous in the Low Countries. That same day, their first tape was released, as if the band had choreographed their own debut.
The photos of the band that surfaced that week immediately evoked memories of Blasphemy: leather bullet belts, inverted crosses, black-and-white corpsepaint that looked more like war paint than theatrical makeup. The names adopted by the members — echoing monikers like ‘Nocturnal Grave Desecrator’, ‘Three Black Hearts’, or ‘Caller of the Storms’ — left little doubt: Bloed is steeped in the War Black Metal tradition.
But once the tape hits the deck, it quickly becomes clear that Bloed, while certainly aligned with the primal chaos of War Black Metal, refuses to be reduced to mere imitation. Yes, the foundation is raw, merciless, and soaked in satanic violence, but there’s more movement in the structures than one might expect. The music is blisteringly loud — that much is certain — but it’s not a directionless explosion. Attentive ears will detect another force rumbling beneath the surface: the unmistakable influence of crust punk.
The d-beat is front and center, a stomping, incendiary backbone beneath the riffstorm. And whereas some War Metal bands devolve into a formless audio sludge, Bloed manages to harness that intensity with a near-anarchic directness. It’s this punk attitude — this “us against everything” mentality — that elevates the band beyond simple worship. It sounds like Discharge and Bathory collided in a damp basement, and the result is a wreckage of rage, smoke, and brimstone.
The ferocity reaches such a level that the whole thing takes on a near-ritualistic character — not ritual in the sense of a carefully executed ceremony, but rather an instinctive outburst, a trance of noise. This is the raw energy of the streets fused with the pitch-black hatred of the underworld. Bloed doesn’t just sound cult — it is cult. Everything about this demo screams underground: from the analog tape mix to the DIY layout and the total absence of online presence. This is music for the initiated — a raised middle finger to the polite listener.
Anyone looking for polished production, technical finesse, or clear song structures will leave empty-handed. But for those who prefer their Black Metal served as a venomous cocktail of filth, punk, and satanic fire, Bloed offers salvation through noise.
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8/10 To Greatness and Glory!
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