BLOODRIDE, Promo 2007  (2007, demo)

The skull:
These Finns are wholly dedicted to the skull. Of their five various releases, four feature some form of skull. The Supreme Predator “single” features a sabertooth skull; amongst the various animal skulls we see here at BDSHQ, it’s one of the most popular animal variations (second only to the longhorn steer). Bloodride have done their part for human skull covers too, which is why the Council, in a rare bout of generosity, have allowed two Bloodride entries into the hallowed Skullection (309 was the first). This one puts the BIG in Big Dumb Skull: we barely see the left eye socket, and there’s no dental work showing, but we know it’s a skull, there can be no doubt of it! The colors make it feel sorta Christmas-y. Just in time, boys! The image is broken into four sections, which is curious, and makes me wonder if this is a closeup of one of the band members’ custom kitchen tile pattern. If so, I need that tile-setter’s number, now.

The music:
Friar Johnsen went into greater detail on Bloodride’s sound in his earlier review of the band’s Crowned in  Hell album, and I can only reprint his views here: “The sound of thrash that’s been reverse-engineered by death metal kids after they hear Bonded By Blood,” sayeth the good Friar. I cannot put it any better than that. It’s all capably delivered, which is no surprise considering these boys are Finnish. Still, who listens to this sort of thing? Adding to the annoyance of Bloodride’s approach are the guitars, which are chunked out in a way that Machine Head fans could relate to. Compositionally these three songs are similar to the kind of early ’90s fourth-rate demo-level Sepultura  wanna-bes that you’d hear a lot back then, or if you can image a hipster-metal/modern aggro version of Acrophet. See? Not at all worth your while.
— Friar Wagner