Bloodbath - Survival of the Sickest (2022)

Starting out as a ‘for fun’ band, Bloodbath has actually released some killer releases in the last decade and continues to bring back that nostalgic old-school Swedish/Florida Death Metal vibe. With “Survival of the Sickest” the band blows almost any other band out of the water with nearly 45 minutes of piercing and chugging DM. Unleashing the sickest and most neck-snapping release in the genre, this is an album you can't miss out on.

Quickly setting the mood with “Zombie Inferno” and “Putrefying Corpse”, the band quickly establishes superiority with incisive chuggy guitar riffs paired with crafty leads and pummeling drumming. Anders Nyström and Tomas Åkvik are on point delivering that old-school razor sharp distortion while keeping a modern and clean edge on things. We love how the band goes from a track like “Dead Parade” to “Malignant Maggot Therapy”, mixing both elements of the Swedish and the Florida DM scene, creating a very engaging and heabanging infusing style.

Nick Holmes’ growls are quite fitting to the band’s music, and in this release he gets extra help in some tracks by Napalm Death’s Mark Greenway, Luc Lemay of Gorguts, and Marc Grewe of Morgoth fame. While all tracks are top-notch in this release, the Carcass-esque “Born Infernal” and the blistering “Affliction of Extinction” have to be two of our favorite ones.

Overall, “Survival of the Sickest” is definitely THE Death Metal release to get in 2022. The band is firing on all cylinders and besides crafting killer songs, they also unleash one hell of a live show. If you like DM and are feeling nostalgic, Bloodbath is a band that should be in constant repeat in your sound system.

Label: Napalm Records

Release: September 9th, 2022

Genre: Death Metal

Country: Sweden