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BOMBUS “Your Blood”
BOMBUS “Your Blood”
By Iron Sheik
For some reason I expected some extreme thrash metal, but I got some gothic tinged heavy power metal instead. No complaints here! I sometimes love when bands experiment with mixing genres like BOMBUS does on “Your Blood”. Especially when they bring an element of something different like a keyboard wash reminiscent of new wave music from the 80s. Think SISTERS OF MERCY or QOTSA. Their music is melodic yet powerful, yet they are making me think they are aiming for top 40 hard rock music charts. Maybe BOMBUS' ambition is to be played on the radio, and there is nothing wrong with that. It just shows they can maintain their heavy roots while experimenting and expanding their sound still rocking hard along the way.
A musical change can be good, different, but it also can fail sometimes. Think Mark Tremonti of ALTER BRIDGE singing Sinatra or G'n'R's “Use Your Illusion” pair or JUDAS PRIEST's “Turbo”. Different, good and failure. Although I have listened to some of BOMBUS' past efforts none of them really stuck with me. I remembered the name of the band over the years but not their music. “Your Blood”, the new album is one of those albums that sticks, and man, it sure is sticky. It reminds me of some of the more obscure finds back in the 80s and 90s. Again, think PRONG or GRUNTRUCK. “Your Blood” rocks from one track to the next never letting up on the momentum until it is finished. A good sign of experimentation working with familiarity.
Opening track “Killer” reminds me of “Paint It Black”. I thought the band were about to start singing it yet then the music shifts gears, and it gives way to BOMBUS2024. “The One”, "like I'm the only one", comes in with a Goth flavored intro which gives way to a heavier guitar driven song. “No Rules” opens with "there will be a perfect storm tonight". A tight keyboard driven song with a longing vocal. “Take You Down” is the longest track at 4:29. "Complete apathy, set you up" leads to having to go, to run.
Next in line is the title track that starts out like a spaghetti Western sounding tune and stays in that style. "You never get enough" sums up the song and the album. “The Beast” is about something "not from this world". Hand claps are used to add a cool effect to the song in a way I do not think cowbells could have accomplished. Oops! I wrote too soon! “Leave And Let Die” ponders "I gotta know just how low can we go". Even the music has a certain air of that low. “Carmina” comes in next under no illusion. "I will disappoint you in the end", adds up to the story untold. “Lo And Behold” is up next. It gallops along stating "I feel the waters start to go". Such a statement could be the beginning of a downward spiral running from the police. “Alone” closes the album. And no, it is not the HEART song of the same name, and again disease comes up. It has a weird breakdown giving way to the guitar solo. An ending feeling of tight bass lines with almost a siren style sounding guitar/keyboard interplay. Is that all there is? I am ready for more. Repeat!
BOMBUS has crafted, and self-produced with, “Your Blood” a very tight and slick piece of heavy metal. Think AC/DC “Flick Of The Switch” era, W.A.S.P. or MOTORHEAD. Before I get too carried wrapping things up I should give the individual members of BOMBUS a nod: Feffe Berglund on Vocals and guitar, Peter Asp on drums, Ola Hendrickson on bass, Simon Solomon on guitar, and Johan Meiton on guitar. Intense, masterful, sophisticated, thunderous, introspective, and purpose driven are some of the words used to describe the band and the album from what I have read about them. I believe every word from hearing Your Blood. Evolution best describes their state. BOMBUS shifted gears with this album, and in doing so presents us with a kickass album. All the different styles of music, i.e. Goth, new wave, spaghetti Western, heavy metal have gelled so perfectlyhere. A great album to get stuck on. “Your Blood” by BOMBUS!
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