Bleedskin are a Belgian death metal band and this is their debut album.

Bleedskin say they’re inspired by bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Abnormality, Behemoth, Dying Fetus, Benighted, and the like, and I’d certainly recommend Blood Reign for fans of these acts. Bleedskin’s songs are well-written, well-produced, and professionally delivered.

Across a 39-minute assault Bleedskin demonstrate a great proficiency in their chosen art. Their death metal is brutal and efficient, but without losing sight of the need for a song-based approach. In this way they draw from the strengths of the genre heavyweights mentioned above, while still retaining a flavour all of their own.

The band clearly know how to write death metal. These songs show a good selection of riffs, melodies, and solos spread out across them. With good choices when it comes to dynamics, structuring, and pacing, the music is well-considered and very satisfying. Striking the right balance between brutal aggression, heavy groove, piercing hooks, and melodic memorability, I like this collection of tracks very much.

The vocals are aggressive growls, and the singer brings a rough edge to the music that sits somewhere between feral ferocity and a more restrained monstrous delivery. Her voice is charismatic and potent, and her performance a strong one. She varies her voice’s depth and tone too, which is good to hear. She’s also occasionally backed up by deeper growls from another singer, which works well when it occurs.

I like this album a lot. It’s a solid, enjoyable, quality death metal release from a band that may be still relatively new, but who already have a lot to offer. There’s a considerable amount of promise in Bleedskin for the future, but for the here and now, Blood Reign is still a highly recommended listen for anyone into classic song-based death metal brutality. Check this out.