Blood Dancer are a heavy metal band from San Diego, California, and their self-titled debut fuses traditional metal elements with some extreme aspects for a fun and certainly heavy release. They list their influences as being Iron Maiden, Dio, Manowar, Queensryche, and Blind Guardian, Metallica, Slayer, Children of Bodom, and Emperor, which is a pretty wide spectrum, but thankfully their music, if not totally original, isn't too derivative either.
Guitarist Cory Barclay and lead singer Christopher Barclay are the two main focal points of the band, which is rounded out by drummer Brian Rumsey, bassist Tony Montemarano, and rhythm guitarist Paul Clausen. Tunes like "The Herald of War", "Without Heroes", "Monster", and "Last Stand of the Pagan Kings" are some of the CDs stronger tracks, each one filled with crunchy, twisting riffs, galloping rhythms, and Christopher's histrionic high-pitched vocal delivery. Barclay has a strong voice, though on some songs his upper register wailing can get grating, so it's nice on a few pieces when he takes on a smooth mid-range and even a more extreme gruff delivery to mix things up a bit. The guitar work throughout is pretty spot on, and while I like Rumsey's drum work I'm not a fan of the way it came out in the mix, as it's rather flat and tinny sounding in spots.
All in all, Blood Dancer have put together a solid little CD here that any fan of classic heavy should find appealing. They've got some talent and no doubt will continue to progress, so it will be interesting to see where they go from here.
Track Listing
1. Realm of the Blood Dancer (1:21) *
2. Death to the Saints (3:24)
3. The Herald of War (4:57)
4. Without Heroes (4:22)
5. Monster (5:26)
6. Discourse of the Soul (1:41) *
7. Skulls Crushed (And People Burned) (4:03)
8. Palace of Bones (5:59)
9. Last Stand of the Pagan Kings (7:40)
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