When I found out that the boys from Obituary were going to do a side project, I was part excited/part intrigued as to what it would all amount to. Sure. Drummer Donald Tardy had experiences with Andrew W.K. (hmmm.....), but what was this all going to sound like?? Well. The end result here is a musical combination of thick, heavy toned rock, stoner, thrash, etc with the characteristic growls of John Tardy over the top. And my god.......does it work!!! This album is so much brutal as it is heavy as balls........
“Bring you Down” has some thick, viscous guitar sound and then some with Tardy’s trademark vocals barking away with full effect. Musically, this is pretty much rocking, stoner metal at times, but with the derangement of good ol JT thrown into the mix. How does he get away with it?? But hell!! It works!! In fact, this is as catchy as hell, and an enjoyable piece of music. In fact, “Bloodline” is one of the most rocking groovy death releases I've ever heard!! With Santolla being allowed a seemingly free role to do what he does best, some of the guitar work borders on....well.....beautiful.
The title track is once again full of rich, crawling guitar work that is just so fucking groovy. About a minute, another cool riff hits home before another great lead moment. The solo two and a half minutes in is just a joy to behold – solo sluts will love it, put it that way! Bloodline is so chock full of solos, then if that's your kettle of fish, then look no further!
“Deep Down” is a more typically death style song where some of the rhythm work could have been taken from Puppets era Metallica. Half way through, the solo leads to a slower bridge that leads back into the Leper Messiah like riffing, and the last minute and a half is the chunky riff to die for section that will have even the stiffest of necks nodding with glee.
The instrumental breaks things up nicely with some very mellow and dreamy guitar work (I was dropping off to this one.......and that's a compliment!) before the shuddering jolt of the intro to “Fates Call” kicks in. This one has a screaming guitar solo very reminiscent of Friedman era Megadeth, and the pounding rhythms are just unrelenting in this one.
“Scream Descendant” has a galloping start and this one yet again showcases some very good soloing. I'm guessing (but making a very educated guess here) that Santolla has done most of the leads on this result, and “Bloodline” showcases once again his considerable talents. Has there ever been a more melodically aware guitarist to play in bands of this nature? Couple this with some Spanish guitar sounds in the middle that works well within the song; it kicks some ass!
Basically, Bloodline is an album that is as heavy as hell, and one that has so much groove that is unbelievable. Couple this with solos, solos, solos and John Tardy's incredibly unique voice, this is a very good release, and one that is well worth spending your pennies on!! The music here is sufficiently different from Obituary, so for those of you expecting an Obituary mark 2 then look elsewhere. What this is, is good old fashioned fun rocking metal.....get in there!
www.tardybrothers.com
