Written in Blood is the debut full-length release from Sweden's Soul Reaper, originally released in 2000 on Nuclear Blast Records, now being reissued by our friends over at Metal Mind Productions. The band was formed after the break-up of Dissection, as drummer Tobias Kellgren & guitarist Johan Norman decided to form another similar type band, recruiting singer Christoffer Hjerlen, lead guitarist Christoffer Hermansson, and bassist Mikael Lang, and Soul Reaper was born. Much like Dissection, Soul Reaper takes elements from both death & black metal, the brutality & Satanic factors really the key, created by evil growls, complex guitar riffs, manic drum blasts, and virtuoso lead guitar solos. Though Written in Blood is barely over 35 minutes in length, it's quality extreme metal in full force, plenty of exciting arrangements that leave room for ample soloing, the band also employing quite a bit of complex time changes along the way, more so than your standard death or black metal band. Tracks like "Ungodly", "Subterreanean Might", and "Labyrinth of the Deathlord" channel the intensity of classic Dissection with the complex might & fury of Morbid Angel, while the epic sounding title track mixes acoustic elements and atmosphere with the black metal fury.
Though there's no bonus material on this one, the digipack features full lyrics, photos, and an essay on the band. It's a shame that Soul Reaper only ever released two CD's, and with the suicide death of Dissection frontman Jon Nodtveidt in 2006, the band decided that it was officially time to pack it in for good. Honestly, I had never checked this one out back when it was originally released in 2000, so kudos to Metal Mind for putting this extreme metal gem out their for all to discover once again.
Track Listing
1. Darken the Sign
2. Written in Blood
3. Satanized
4. Ungodly
5. Subterreanean Might
6. The Seal of Degradation
7. Labyrinth of the Deathlord
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