Review: Bloodbound – The Tales of Nosferatu Two Decades of Blood (2004 – 2024)

AFM Records (April 19^th 2024)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

Power metal band Bloodbound have decided to commemorate their 20th anniversary with the release of a special fan-centric package that includes their Summer 2023 performance at Masters of Rock in the Czech Republic in a CD/Blu-Ray format along with some extra materials.  The only materials I had the chance to review was the audio and video of the live show. As a fan of the band, I was not disappointed…at least with the sonics.

Regarding the audio, it is top notch. The band sounds powerful and I love when the crowd is loud enough to be heard. When singer Patrik J. Selleby commands the crowd to sing the chorus to a song like ‘In The Name of Metal’ and the crowd can be heard screaming, it’s all the reasons I dig live albums. Sounds like that can’t be captured in a studio.

There’s a great collection of songs here that represent a good cross section of the band’s history. Personal favorite included the aforementioned ‘In The Name of Metal’, ‘When Fate is Calling’, ‘Moria’, ‘Creatures of the Dark Realm’, and their magnum opus, ‘Nosferatu’. My only contention with the live show is that it is supposed to be a celebration of the band’s history.  However, with the exception of ‘Nosferatu’, earlier albums ‘Book of the Dead’ and ‘Tabula Rasa’ are not included. The press release also states Patrik replaced departing singer Michael Bormann, when in fact he replaced rehired singer Urban Breed. Urban is mentioned nowhere in the press release, which details the band’s history. Odd.

While I understand the band had limited stage time at a multiband festival, I was disappointed that there were only 11 songs on offer. Fortunately, the CD/Blu-Ray combo pack includes excerpts from a past Japan performance and all the music videos released to date. It also comes with an illustrated comic explaining the origin of the band’s mascot, Nossen. I also can’t complain too much as I have their first live CD/DVD from their performance at Masters of Rock in 2015, which features more of their earlier material.

Since I have seen both concerts, I can say that while I enjoyed the sound of both, the better visual live show is their release from 2015. In the 2015 version of the festival, the band seems to play on a slightly bigger stage and has front and spotlight lighting. For this new release, the band performed on the Ronnie James Dio stage, which is lit from the top and sides of the stage. While that may be suitable for those in a live setting, no front or spot lighting creates lots of shadows.  In a song like ‘Moria’ the stage is lit in dark blue and it’s difficult to see the band clearly as their silhouettes go in and out of focus with the flashes of light.

If the only reason you want this release is the visual component, outside of the newer songs, the visuals are not the package’s strong suit. Fans of the band would welcome the newer songs in a live setting and all the extras the package has to offer. The combination makes it a great deal for them, which is clearly the target audience as bands do not release live albums to win new fans over. The band sounds great on this and more sonics from the crowd makes it all more intimate. I like cranking the speakers and feeling like I’m in the crowd enjoying the show and you get that here.

Tracklist:

1. Bloodtale (Intro)
2. Tales from the North
3. Slayer of Kings
4. In the Name of Metal
5. When Fate is Calling
6. A New Era Begins (Intro)
7. Battle in the Sky
8. Drink with the Gods
9. The Warlock’s Trail
10. Moria
11. Creatures of the Dark Realm
12. Rise of the Dragon Empire
13. Nosferatu