Bloodletter – A Different Kind Of Hell
Release Date: 21st July 2023
Label: Wise Blood
Bandcamp
Genre: Heavy Metal, Thrash, Deaththrash.
FFO: Kreator, Enforced, Exodus.
Review By: Rob Woodhouse
Bloodletter’s last full-length release, Funeral Hymns, was one of those rare highlights of the lockdown era. A blast of nasty thrash to vent your frustrations through, and maybe put your fist through the odd wall. This latest offering promises Bloodletter’s “Most lethal songs yet” with a more epic and adventurous sound. Let’s dive in…
As you would expect, it’s a breakneck start to proceedings. There are no elegant intro’s or anything like that; Bloodletter go straight for the throat. On first listen it seems to be business as usual for these Chicago thrashers, but as you settle into A Different Kind Of Hell, alongside that nasty blackened thrash and speedy metal, you’ll find some dual melodies and nifty time-changes creeping in.
This album is billed as a concept album. Historically, thrash metal hasn’t exactly been suited to any epic storytelling format, but the general theme of suffering, death and living and dying in hell shines through loud and clear. It’s not exactly Operation: Mindcrime, though.
The intertwined guitars and building drums of Blood Is Life that open into some, dare I say it…? Ugh, classic A7X dual leads certainly tells a story. Bloodletter are only getting better at crafting these big and ballsy songs. An early highlight that sets the ball rolling.
This album is a frantically paced rip-snorter, and while it’s true that Bloodletter have added a few new strings to their bow with A Different Kind Of Hell; the album is ultimately just another damn good Bloodletter album. No need to rewrite Wikipedia or the Metal Archives just yet lads…
The new breadth of sound is hinted at in the intro to the title track, with some traditional sounding lead guitars wrapping around each other and some crunchy Testament style riffing. There’s very little let-up throughout the album; in fact, you’ll have to wait until track 10 to get any sort of mid-paced material, but What Lies Beneath soon erupts into a chunky thrash number with scorching guitar work and classic in-your face vocal work. It all ends in a pile-up of guitar solos that make this a real standout track on the album.
The PR blurb attached to this record would have you believe that Bloodletter were uprooting and moving onto pastures new in terms of musical landscape. There’s certainly some growth and more precision in their songwriting here, but essentially this is simply another kick-ass Bloodletter record to add to that steadily growing collection. Bloodletter mean business with A Different Kind Of Hell, go check it out!
(4 / 5)
