| Musical Style: Melodic Metal | Produced By: Darrell Mansfield |
| Record Label: Frontline | Country Of Origin: USA |
| Year Released: 1986 | Artist Website: Bloodgood |
| Tracks: 10 | Rating: 80% |
| Running Time: 37:48 |
Bloodgood's founder and bassist Michael Bloodgood developed the vision for the Seattle based melodic metal band back in 1982 but did not finalize its line up until 1985. A four song professional sounding demo, Metal Missionaries, was soon recorded with the intention of securing a record deal; however, once the band made it available to the public, it went on to sell a respectable 5000 copies. After Bloodgood opened for blues rocker Darrell Mansfield in Tacoma, Washington, Mansfield gave Frontline owner Jimmy Kempner a copy of the tape in question which directly led to the band signing a deal.
Bloodgood, ranking alongside Stryper and Barren Cross as one of the top white metal bands of the eighties, takes a foundation of melodic metal and combines it with elements of classic metal and speed metal on its self-titled Frontline debut. The talented Les Carlson brings a raspy but melodic flavored lead vocal style sounding like a cross between Steve Perry (Journey) and John Schlitt (Petra, Head East). The underrated David Zaffiro contributes a profusion of lightning fast lead guitar work. Michael Bloodgood performs steadily on bass, while J.T. Taylor rounds out the rhythm section on drums.
Producer Darrell Mansfield did a creditable job working within the confines of a limited budget to create an album characterized by refined and sharp sounding sonics. Plenty of crisp rhythm guitar stands alongside a clean mix of lead guitar and bass. An average drum sound, on the other hand, is the only area of improvement worth noting.
The album cover proves quite effective in featuring the bands logo over a black background spotted with pools of blood. The lyrics included with the CD insert, on the other hand, can be difficult to read due to being printed in too small of a font.
Introduced by angelic acappella vocal harmonies, the melodic metal of "Accept The Lamb" is driven ahead in a strong and steady fashion by a nice edgy rhythm guitar. The vocal harmonies in question return in time, however, to back a chorus giving rise to a good commercial feel. The only drawback to the song comes in the form of an instrumental passage limited to only several seconds of rhythm guitar.
A good punchy bass line shores up the melodic hard rocker "Stand In The Light" from front to back. A trade off between the rhythm guitar and drums propels the song during its verse portions until a touch of vocal harmonies bolsters a catchy melodic flavored chorus. After Zaffiro nails a bluesy guitar solo, Carlson continually repeats the songs chorus over just the sound of pounding drums.
Commencing to several seconds of open air rhythm guitar, a crunchy riff conveys "Demon On The Run" at a mid-tempo pace until it crests for a powerfully delivered chorus that ranks among the albums very best. Zaffiro nails several seconds of perfectly produced flashy lead guitar work. "Demon On The Run" celebrates the believer's promise of eternal life:
The Kingdom of God is at hand
He lives in you and me
Oh the Lamb has set us free
By the power of His grace
Only He reserves a place
For each and everyone
Who believes in His Son
"Anguish And Pain" gets underway to a double bass driven riff that quickly takes it at an upbeat tempo to a good hard hitting chorus. Zaffiro contributes a brief but well done guitar solo to a song dealing with the second coming:
With a crashing of thunder and flashing of light
He comes like a warrior, a thief in the night
With crowns on His head, He's seeking His throne
The title of Lord Sovereign King is His alone
Carried through its first and second verse in a fast paced manner, "Awake" gains further momentum for a vocal harmony driven chorus in which Carlson displays the abundant range to his voice. I like how the song stops dead in its tracks following its first chorus as Carlson sings a prayer over a quietly played guitar line:
My father, hallowed by thy name
My Lord, this is what I pray
Not my will but yours be done
You're my Father, I'm your Son
I wish Bloodgood had expanded upon an instrumental break limited to a few seconds of rhythm guitar.
Opening to a militant drum beat, "Soldier Of Peace" moves forward to a crisp rhythm guitar reinforced by a punchy bass line, the two driving the song to a forcefully delivered chorus coming across in the form of a battle cry:
Soldier of Peace
Soldier of Light
Look out Satan
'Cause I'm coming to fight!
Zaffiro nails a beautiful melodic flavored guitar solo before Carlson talks about victory in the life of a Christian:
Then I heard the sounds of Heaven
Crashing seas...seemed like thunder
I turned my back on the devil
'Cause Jesus broke my chains
Now I live for His glory
"You Lose" was originally recorded on a demo tape by Michael Bloodgood's old band Cypress. Taking off to a high pitched scream from Carlson, the song quickly moves forward until it reaches an energy-laden chorus ending to the words "You lose!" conveyed in a hard hitting fashion. "You Lose" slows as a pronounced bass line underscores Carlson's raspy voice before Zaffiro lets loose with a fiery solo.
The blues based heavy metal of "What's Following The Grave" proceeds through its first verse at a mid-tempo pace to a quietly played guitar line. As the song gains momentum, the rhythm guitar arrives at the front of the mix in time to buttress a chorus resonating a dark and heavy feel. Thirty seconds of gritty lead guitar work complements the pace and feel of a song pointing to the source of eternal life:
If you know Him there'll be life!
If you don't there'll be separation from my God
Oh Lord they're gonna die without the blood
Without the blood of Jesus Christ
"Killing The Beast" progresses at a much faster pace when compared to "What's Following The Grave" but proves no less heavy. Beginning to several seconds of rhythm guitar as the rhythm section bounces in and out of the mix, an edgy guitar riff impels the song to a chorus fortified by deep sounding vocal harmonies. Zaffiro follows with thirty seconds of the albums best lead guitar work. "Killing The Beast" talks about exactly that:
One day the King of Kings will put him in an endless pit
And lock it up tight for a thousand years
The Alpha and Omega will begin His reign on earth
And crushing into pieces ancient fears
He'll receive all glory high up on His mighty throne
All nations bowing down in reverent praise
Tears of joy and laughter will be our new place and home
Our enemy is doomed in a fiery blaze!
A fast paced double bass driven riff aggressively thrusts "Black Snake" through its first four verses before Zaffiro nails a lightning fast solo. Rapidly advancing through its fifth, the song culminates for a high octane chorus ending as vocal harmonies repeat the phrase "He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world."
I would describe Bloodgood's self-titled debut, which went on to sell 50,000 copies, as a consistent effort from front to back in that each of its ten compositions holds up under repeated play. The classic metal of "Demon On The Run" and "Killing The Beast" stand out as two of the albums more noteworthy tracks; however, the catchy "Soldier Of Peace", the blues-based "What's Following The Grave" and the speed metal influenced "Black Snake" both hold up equally well. The albums solid production job and well written lyrics only add to its appeal.
I would like to close by adding that the album deserves to be re-issued on CD with the four songs from the Metal Missionaries demo as bonus tracks. Finally, Bloodgood ended up recording a total of thirteen songs for its self-titled debut and, as a result, it would only make sense to add the three additional unreleased songs as well.
Review by: Andrew Rockwell
Track Listing: "Accept The Lamb" (3:47), "Stand In The Light" (3:41), "Demon On The Run" (3:56), "Anguish And Pain" (3:02), "Awake!" (4:10), "Soldier Of Peace" (3:15), "You Lose" (2:53), "What's Following The Grave" (5:00), "Killing The Beast" (4:41), "Black Snake" (2:53)
Musicians
Les Carlson – Lead Vocals
David Zaffiro – Guitars
Michael Bloodgood – Bass
J.T. Taylor - Drums
Also Reviewed: Bloodgood - Detonation
