Review Summary: A forgotten gem that still shines.
Black Metal and Melodic Death Metal had a baby, and its name is Bloodforsaken.
Based in Linz Austria, Thirdmoon formed in 1994 by founder Wolfgang Rothbauer and are still active today. With the release of Bloodforsaken at the very beginning of the year on January 1st of 2000, it sparked a melodic death metal frenzy of an LP under the label Napalm Records. This album contains everything you could possibly hope for in the genre. Acoustic guitar riffs, twin leads, raw Gothenburg sound-esque vocals and some heavy, savage lyrics. Instantly likable on the first listen, Bloodforsaken has a plethora of memorable moments with a tremendous amount of replay value. This album gets straight to the point. From beginning to end there is not a dull moment or a sense of repetition in any shape or form. Bringing a hint of black metal combined with melodic death stirred up in a concoction that makes Bloodforsaken stand out against any other rival in the realm of the genre, this album will leave you in a state of euphoria. This is also not a one hit wonder album, in fact every track on Bloodforsaken is golden. Remember the first time you listened to Whoracle? This isn't its cousin, it's her sister. While this album falls short of what Whoracle is, it still manages to capture the essence of her sibling respectively, as well as utilize every aspect of that singular feeling it produced from years ago when melodic death metal was in its prime.
Starting out with Spiritual Icons, Bloodforsaken seems to be a promising album. Everything from guttural growls to raw black metal screams, blast beats, double kick and nicely executed twin melodic guitar riffs keeps this album alive till the end. Catharsis in Azure has a combination of almost everything this album has to offer while Obsolete Scars has a different approach in feel, yet managing to stay within the meta of their own unique style. Fractured Abandonment starts out as if it were a part of In Flames' old recordings with a feeling only one would guess was recorded in the mid 90's. For 2000, Bloodforsaken couldn't have been recorded any better. It has just the right amount of rawness and production one wouldn't expect from any band at this time.
What about leads you ask? You have almost everything here; pinch harmonics, twin leads to soothing acoustic segments mixed with a dash of Celtic/Spanish guitar scale techniques, most notably on the track Grotesque Chapter II. You even have a song that starts with an acoustic segment building up to a crescendo of an Arabian style lead/rhythm guitar, off beat drum patterns behind that making it sound like anything but a cliché. The vocals here are all over the place from heavy, punchy low growls to high, crisp and passionate screams executed with grace and precision that blend in flawlessly with the backing music. The album even has a nice "Outro" to close it up, which is also the track name, ending with acoustics fading, leaving you begging for more.
In closing, if you're a fan of old school melodic death metal i.e. In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and/or Edge of Sanity, you will come to appreciate this album more than you would ever expect. While it is 17 years old, it is a classic that has since been buried alive with a promise to come back from the dead with a vengeance.
