The Ransack

Bloodline

Written by: PP on 15/12/2011 05:22:33

The Ransack are Portugal's answer to Dark Tranquillity. They are quintessentially melodic death metal, playing the genre by the books without much attempt of deviating from a tried-and-tested formula on their newest album "Bloodline". It's a much rougher production than records by their Gothenburg based peers, but the influence of DT and indeed In Flames is undeniable in the slick melodeath riffs and an overall soundscape that screams mid to late 90s Gothenburg in every conceivable way.

Granted, they do try to integrate a modern metal sound that resembles our local heroes Raunchy, but it isn't done in a large enough extent to justify pigeonholing the band in any other genre than melodeath. The growls, although more brooding than is the case, follow the twin-guitar melodies in an acceptable manner, though their vocalist certainly isn't as charismatic as Anders Fridén or the rest of the Gothenburg heavyweight frontmen (and women: Arch Enemy, right?).

"Bloodline" essentially consists of exactly what you think when you hear the word 'melodeath', and it does so to varying degrees of quality. A few cuts like "Son Of The Seas", "Zenith", and "The Last Days" are on par with the high standard we've grown to expect from the genre over the years, but elsewhere the band has a tendency to rely on riffs too anonymous and songwriting too bland to really up their game to a level where they can compete on even footing with the big names of the genre. Consider them to be like a second-tier melodeath band; they aren't terrible, but it's easy to hear they're missing the final ingredient that would make them contenders.

Download: Son Of The Seas, Zenith, The Last Days
For the fans of: Dark Tranquillity, old In Flames, Raunchy
Listen: Myspace

Release date 17.06.2011
Noisehead Records

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