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BLOOD RAGE
Return To Crimson Pines EP

Self-released (2025)
Rating: 7/10

Like all good horror film sequels (and believe me, there aren’t many), Return To Crimson Pines is the continuation process of Welsh death metal band Blood Rage. With cover art plucked straight from one of my favourite 80s horror movies, The Burning, Return To Crimson Pines comes equipped with meaty riffs galore and skull-battering percussion.

There’s no real surprises here, after all this is death metal, but as with numerous UK bands of this ilk there’s a real urgency, confidence and an underlying chemistry between the characters involved (Tom Hughes and Filip Garlonta). Although yet to release a full-length, Blood Rage still manages to occupy your late hours with a handful of tracks.

The EP opens with the trailer from cult 80s slasher flick Sleepaway Camp, before the riffs churn the waters of the previously undisturbed lake. There’s a vocal tag team here, we get the expected guttural cough and this is interrupted by a snappier, throatier yap. The yaps are less favoured by myself but it could also be argued that their presence adds an extra dimension. However, it’s the riffs that really cause the most damage here; repulsive and twisted chords that occasionally flicker with a Mortician-styled glee while also maintaining their own ploughing identity of horror.

I’d also argue that when it comes to the gory glut of UK death metal bands clogging up the pipes that Blood Rage are most certainly in the top tier. Hughes creates a certain atmosphere, more so I guess due to the smattering of movie samples. Admittedly though, within the cauldron of riffs there is an element of goofiness, and it’s not always intended. The vocal chops at the beginning of ‘Join Us’ are unintentionally comical although the scowling howling riff wind makes up for it.

There are six tracks spewed up here, my favourite brace being the title track and ‘Lake Of Blood’. The former is a case of bluster n’ trudge, the latter also featuring some dense, burly and twisted riffs. Blood Rage are becoming masters of the riff game, constructing tight yet deep, rolling and fuzzy labours over equally thick vocal coughs. There are some heaps of blubber to chew on throughout this EP, but I do hope the next feast of flesh the lads release is a full-length.

Neil Arnold

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