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BLOODFED
Pandemonium

Fatalism Musickness (2025)
Rating: 7/10

It’s not often I get to review Indonesian death metal, but here’s the debut full-length outing from Septian (vocals). Vebri (guitar), Uyuasi (bass) and Yudi (drums).

Bloodfed started out in 2021 and released a three-track demo. The songs from that release all feature here on what is a rather short album at 28 minutes. The band also throws in a cover rendition of the Grave song ‘Into The Grave’ for good measure, but what really strikes hard are the riffs.

Although surprisingly inspired by the chainsaw surges of Entombed and Dismember, ‘Eternal Sacrifice’ is an absolute riff-a-rama of HM-2. I’ve often criticised so many death metal bands for aping the Swedish sound because a) it’s inferior to the originals, and b) it’s so predictable and generic, so how this new Indonesian combo can churn out the same style but with intriguing vim is beyond me, although it’s a joy to behold.

Another surprise element are the vocals, which, on a track like ‘Plague’, have a blackened sneer, although there’s still that archetypal Entombed tone and scowl. ‘Beyond The Veil Of Sanity’ boasts such an evil tempo, the vocals a snarling, chesty ooze over the wall of constant buzzing. The guitar sound is very much a wall of sound, foaming as tidal rushes, particularly on the more aggressive tracks such as ‘Taste Of Death’ and ‘Soulless Monster’. Again, there are rabid dashes of blackness to certain streaks, although much of what is served up wouldn’t seem that out of place on Entombed’s classic 1991 album Clandestine.

‘The Wrath Of Hell’ is the standout moment if you like truly ravenous Swedish death metal, it’s fast and furious and the drums are pure savagery. The guitar tone on final song ‘The Cursed Evil’ sounds like a war of chainsaws, yet the quartet displays a methodical approach within the aggression. This won’t be the last band you’ll hear taking the Stockholm sound under their wing, but Bloodfed are, unlike a lot of acts, good at doing it.

Neil Arnold

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