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BLOOD EXPECTORATION
Mortality Blast

Iron Fortress (2025)
Rating: 7/10

Channelling the groove-laden yet punishing death metal of bands such as Benediction, Ukrainian bunch Blood Expectoration finally gets round to unleashing its sophomore full-length outing, 13 years after debut album Disfigured Vision.

For a band that’s been hanging around since 2006, it’s no surprise that there have been a few changes in the line-up. The only original member left is vocalist and guitarist Roman Dekhtiar. He was joined in 2014 by drummer Anton Myasnikov and then two more years passed before axeman Serhii Medvid joined the ranks. The most recent acquisition has been bassist Oleksii Omelchuk, who arrived in 2021.

Upon first listen I was surprised just how catchy this album is. Opening song ‘Disgraceful Bliss’ boasts that robust vocal bellowing I’d associate with a Benediction record, and the musical dynamics run a similar path too. No, it’s not the most thrilling battering ram ride, but it does an effective job if you want your walls taken down.

Mortality Blast bruises throughout its duration, and at its most furious there’s the grinding punishment of ‘Isolated & Mutilated’ which features some ultra-heavy bass and drum work before its furious tirade of burly riffs. Meanwhile, some of the mid-tempo material hits like a bulldozer; the opening colossal rhythms of ‘Purgatory’ strike like the steady destructive swing of a wrecking ball.

Many of the structures presented have a mid-90s flavour; solid, robust and non-technical barrages that have the subtlety of a ton of bricks being dropped on your head. I like to call this style of metal “boulder death metal”, with a band like Blood Expectoration being the gargantuan spherical rock rolling after its victim. Utterly belligerent and hard-faced, songs such as ‘Maniacal Passion’ steadily grind n’ groove with a real depth to their riffs.

This is meaty stuff. ‘Humanity’s Collapse’ veers towards a Napalm Death-style of grunting as fleeting hardcore influences entwine with grindcore aspects. It’s blunt, ugly and no-shits given death metal that has no interest in evolving out of its hard shell.

Neil Arnold

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