Search - Bloodbath :: The Fathomless Mastery

Blasphemy!

Aaron Von Raschke | 11/18/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For those not familiar, Bloodbath is a Death Metal supergroup comprised of members from Katatonia, Opeth, etc.



Honestly, I don't know a lot about Bloodbath other than their album RESURRECTION THROUGH CARNAGE, which is the only one I have heard prior to THE FATHOMLESS MASTERY so that's all I have to compare it to. In other words: I'm no Swedish Death Metal expert, so take this review with a grain of salt. As far as RESURRECTION THROUGH CARNAGE is concerned, it's an album I own and play regularly when I'm in the mood for Death Metal. Everything from the cover art to the musical and lyrical content is very Horror-related which is something I can identify with. It's very groove-heavy and, sound-wise, is very unconventional as far as your standard Death Metal. THE FATHOMLESS MASTERY is more straight-forward Death Metal that relies on more blastbeats and swaying guitar riffs that tend to lean more toward that Brutal aspect as opposed to being too Technical. Overall, the entire album has an anti-Christianity theme as opposed to the more Zombie/Horror-influenced RESURRECTION THROUGH CARNAGE.



The album starts with the epic "At The Behest Of Their Death". It's short and to the point. The point being that Bloodbath is back, they're pissed, and they don't care who gets in their way. It starts the album off at a brutal pace and the pace pretty much stays the same throughout the entire album. However, the momentum of the masterpiece that is the opening track doesn't really carry over to the rest of the album. THE FATHOMLESS MASTERY starts off on a high note but doesn't really go anywhere after that and I found the rest of the album to be rather monotonous. Excellent and well done songs, but monotonous nonetheless. The only other tracks that stand out are "Iesous" and "Wretched Human Mirror". "Iesous" (which means 'Jesus') is sandwiched right in the middle of the album and is just an awesome track. It starts off with a slow, chugging riff with a drum beat that compliments it before going into the standard Death Metal blastbeat. A minute later, the song goes into a brief breakdown that sounds like something out of a Meshuggah album. Somewhere in the middle of the song is a really cool part that in which the only thing you hear is the drummer's blastbeats, a keyboard sound that sounds like a Tibetan Monk chant, and the vocalist repeating the same words over and over again, "Iesous, Yeshua, Iesous". Spooky stuff. It's like a Death Metal version of THE EXORCIST. The album's final track "Wretched Human Mirror" starts off sounding like every other track on the album until about two minutes into the song, where it totally does a 180 and shifts into an Apocalyptic breakdown that sounds like the gates of Hades opening up, while a sampled voice in the background reminds you that "everyone that you and I have ever known... is dead". Eventually the music fades off into nothing while the voice repeats "there is no God". The album ends on a note just as epic as how it started.



Overall, personal gripes aside, THE FATHOMLESS MASTERY is a solid album from one of the most underrated Death Metal bands in existence. While not the most diverse record by any means, it still works as advertised. It's fast, heavy, and full of hatred. Fun for the whole family. I still like RESURRECTION THROUGH CARNAGE better, but that's just me. Any fan of Death Metal and Extreme Metal in general will be more than pleased with this album. Highly recommended for people who hate Jesus.



3.5 stars"

Unbelievably good!

avgvstvs | Omaha NE | 10/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not typically a fan of your average death metal... Entombed was good, Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel took it in a direction that I just don't like. (CC especially, though MA's "Domination" was a killer disc.) And upstarts like Job for a Cowboy sound like angry dwarves slamming away on tin cans. REAL death metal are bands like At the Gates, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Dissection... and the only band in America that deserves mention being Arsis, with a minor nod to Oakland's "All Shall Perish."



I'm a fan of Katatonia. Huge fan. Jonas Renske is one of the guitarists in Bloodbath, and I thought "Well, he has great taste for his main band... lets give this one a try."



Blown away.



When I heard these guys were 'traditional' death metal (as defined as CC, or MA) I was like... eh... not sure.



But this album is absolutely perfect. This is the band that Job for a Cowboy WANTS to be--but never will. This sounds NOTHING like Katatonia--not that I was expecting that--but Renske's leads are just as haunting on this as they are for Katatonia... in fact its a little more ominous with the brutal churning the other guys bring into the mix.



The only other cd in the past 3 years in the "classic death metal" category that I've liked was All Shall Perish's "The Price of All Existence."



You might hate me for slamming on some death metal classics, but don't let that stop you from buying this disc. Oh, it's not supposed to be available until 10/28/08 but they haven't blocked the mp3 downloads and I've been listening to it since 10/5.



EDIT: Replace "Renske" with Blackheim. I was recently informed that Renske only played bass in bloodbath too."

Mikael Akerfeldt's alter ego.

ceffalo | 12/21/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the new album by Bloodbath, released just a couple of months prior to today. I own their previous two efforts and it's amazing how close to the roots of their sound this band keeps. That's especially amazing considering that this is a supergroup of members from completely different, and highly successful, other bands. Ever heard of Opeth? Two of the members who worked on The Fathomless Mastery are integral to Opeth's 2008 release, Watershed.



I find that kind of work ethic in metal music composers to be absolutely amazing. There are some great American metal bands, but these European fellows seem to have nothing else better to do than make us some great music, and I am really appreciative of that.



As I said in the review title, this is Mikael Akerfeldt's (Opeth) alter ego. In his other band he attempts to make death metal into something beautifully progressive, and he achieves that wonderfully. Opeth has created some of the finest music I've ever heard.



So, what's with Bloodbath? Well, they are also death metal, but the complete opposite of Opeth in what they do. The songs are much shorter, the direction is far more brutal and tense. The metal, is well, more metal.



The Fathomless Mastery seems to be an effort in blasphemy as well. It seems deliberately opposed, at least as an album concept, to anything Christian. How metal, right?



Metal fans who enjoy brutal riffs and fast paced style will fully enjoy this album. Anyone who loves Slayer will thoroughly enjoy Bloodbath, who I think is really better.



The album dives right into a frenetic pace and never lets up. It speeds through like a freight train."