Tag: Gothic Metal
0 By Blood Alone – Seas of Blood (Release Year – 2007)
Portland, Maine’s By Blood Alone released their full length debut album, Seas of Blood in 2007. With a name like this, one might think this band is latest death metal act to hit the scene. As I quickly discovered, this is not the case.
By Blood Alone is a female fronted gothic metal act, led by singer Cruella. Their sound is a strong mixture of heavy guitars and celtic keyboard based rock. The music on Seas of Blood will take you on a voyage that offers quite the mixture of sounds. Each member of this band seems to be very proficient at their instrument. Although Cruella’s voice is not the strongest that I have listened to, she does add a lot of character to their sound. The keyboard melodies offer a mixture of melancholy melodies, and ethereal tones. At times, they tend to be mixed higher than the heavy guitars of John Graveside, and I think this was one of the few mistakes that the band made.
The bands’ myspace page describes their sound as progressive, gothic metal. The gothic sounds are definitely present, but I am so sure about the progressive part. I don’t think the music has the tempo, or time changes found in most of today’s progressive metal. You won’t confuse By Blood Alone with Dream Theater or Nightwish for that matter. Nonetheless, the music found here is quite good. It might take a few listens for you to fully absorb the music, as it did with me. Sea of Blood is one of the more interesting discs that I have listened to as of late.
As a whole, I think By Blood Alone has only scratched the surface of where they could take their music. The band has all of the tools to take their music to the next level. Stephen King may have put Portland, Maine on the map as far as pop culture goes, with the right producer and a little bit of luck, By Blood Alone could carry this town’s legacy well into the future.
If you would like to see what By Blood Alone is all about, check out their myspace page. You can purchase their CD, at CDBaby.com and Amazon.com.
Rating:Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Serpentarius
2. Wants Me Dead
3. Undead Friend
4. Nidhogg
5. Lovely Lies
6. Seas of Blood
7. Deny Yourself
8. Little Lady Lillit
By Blood Alone is:
Cruella – Vocals
John Graveside – Guitar
Jack Doran – Bass
Runtt – Drums
Jenny Williamson – Keys