The Ransack – Bloodline

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There are not many metal bands that have broken out of the Portugal metal scene. As such, when faced with melodeath act The Ransack it is difficult not to try and find comparison between them and the most prominent band to come from the country, despite coming from different sub-genres. Thankfully there is perhaps only one noteworthy similarity – The Ransack’s harsh vocal delivery is comparable to that of Moonspell‘s, albeit without the characteristic clean vocals. Otherwise The Ransack are a mostly indistinguishable melodeath outfit with some metalcore influences. The metalcore influence is mostly in the much more chuggy guitars, being much less riff-lead than bands more heavily influenced by the Gothenburg sound. As such Bloodline is a heavier feeling album than a lot of the more conventional melodic death metal records, but from a technical perspective isn’t all that interesting. None of the guitar work will come across as dazzling; it does the job, yes, but it isn’t a very exciting job. The song-writing is okay, and the album does have some memorable tunes, but mostly Bloodline tends to blend into one chuggy riff. As such, this album won’t make The Ransack stand out; it’s a decent enough album within the genre, but there’s simply nothing remarkable about it.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2011, Albums, Death Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, The Ransack