Flotsam And Jetsam is generally considered to be experiencing a comeback in recent years, but I’m not sure if I agree with that assessment, as the band never went through prolonged periods of releasing poor albums. Even when their music was closer to hardrock than heavy metal in the mid-nineties, they were still reasonably good. Admittedly, 2019’s ‘The End Of Chaos’ re-energized the band with a collection of songs that were equal parts heavy metal and thrash metal with a contemporary edge that, unlike with many of their peers, sounded completely natural. ‘Blood In The Water’ sounds similar, but slightly better.

Of course, Flotsam And Jetsam always had a strength that many thrash bands lacked and that is a fantastic singer in Eric ‘A.K.’ Knutson. Some people complain that he does not quite reach for the highest shrieks anymore, but that is an unavoidable effect of aging. And more importantly, his mid-range still sounds powerful, convincing and very expressive. ‘Blood In The Water’ would still have been a good album if it just had to rely on the strong riffs and guitar arrangements of Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley, but Knutson’s voice is once again what makes a Flotsam And Jetsam album great rather than just good.

What makes ‘Blood In The Water’ take the edge over ‘The End Of Chaos’ for me is the fact that it has better choruses. ‘The End Of Chaos’ had the same twenty-first century riff work with melodic touches that have a distinct eighties feel, but some of the choruses were a bit repetitive. They are no less memorable on ‘Blood In The Water’, but the replay value is certainly increased by the greater variation. Moreover, there are songs like the fantastically constructed ‘The Wicked Hour’ that have parts that seem like the chorus, only to be hit by the actual chorus in a contrasting section.

Variation is one of the major assets of ‘Blood In The Water’ anyway. Flotsam And Jetsam was never the heaviest or most aggressive of thrash metal bands, but songs like the title track, the fast old school thrasher ‘Grey Dragon’ and the blunt ‘Brace For Impact’ give some heavier bands a run for their money. ‘The Walls’ and the amazingly dramatic closer ‘Seven Seconds ‘Til The End Of The World’, on the other hand, showcase the more melodic side of the band, while a song like ‘Too Many Lives’ has some Nevermore-ish modern metal traits. ‘Cry For The Dead’ goes the more atmospheric semi-ballad route and while it has a good climax, it takes slightly too long to get there.

All in all though, ‘Blood In The Water’ is another surprisingly good album for a band that has been around for about four decades now. The rhythm section of bassist Bill Bodily and veteran drummer Ken Mary deserves extra credit for making the album sound as fresh and invigorated as it does. In a way, ‘Blood In The Water’ brings together the classic thrash era and the more modern ventures such as ‘My God’ and ‘The Cold’ in a combination of very well-written and possibly even better executed songs. And since it is about equal parts heavy metal, thrash metal and modern power metal, it might just have a broader appeal than the average Flotsam And Jetsam album.

Recommended tracks: ‘Seven Seconds ‘Til The End Of The World’, ‘Blood In The Water’, ‘The Walls’, ‘Grey Dragon’