Melodic death metal is a subgenre that has the potential to be so much more than what it typically ends up being. That likely has a lot to with the fact that the current generation of bands in that style is inspired by other melodeath bands, whereas the first generation didn’t have that, and took inspiration from traditional heavy metal and first-wave Swedish death metal. While Spanish quintet Bloodhunter undeniably sounds more modern than those bands, they have never sounded like they latched onto a formula, and never has that been quite so apparent as it is on ‘Sons of the Abandoned’.

One reason why Bloodhunter has a slightly different approach than other modern melodic death metal bands is because they have been around for nearly two decades, so when they started out, copying Arch Enemy’s formula – intense riff and verse, overly melodic chorus that completely takes the sting out of the song, solos, rinse and repeat – wasn’t quite the norm yet. Also, they’re not Swedish, which helps. Despite tight musicianship throughout, there is a rock ‘n’ roll-ish looseness to their approach that makes ‘Sons of the Abandoned’ feel like a very spontaneous work that is easy to connect with as a listener.

Another big plus is that there is a ton of variation on ‘Sons of the Abandoned’, which is admirable in a style with such clearly defined parameters. Bloodhunter doesn’t go the obvious way by applying various tempos. Instead, they try to go as many different directions as possible melodically, which should be obvious, but metal bands in general tend to stick to whatever key the lowest string facilitates. Bloodhunter alternates between the almost hard rock-esque feel of opener ‘The Devil’s Own’ to a mildly proggy vibe vaguely reminiscent of Nevermore on ‘Code Aeternam’ to the hyper-dynamic, almost schizophrenic ‘Masters of Deceive’, without ever hurting the album’s flow.

For me personally, Bloodhunter is at its best when they adopt a thrashy approach. Songs like the pummeling ‘No One Beats Death’, the thrash metal meets a faint whiff of Carcass of ‘Ephemeral Youth’, or the somewhat more dramatic, but no less aggressive ‘The Outspoken’ really capture the band at its best. The band further ups its thrash metal cred with a fantastic cover of Annihilator masterpiece ‘Human Insecticide’. However, these songs would not have worked quite as well if they weren’t surrounded by songs with a slightly different take on melodic death metal creating a dynamic whole that transcends what the genre usually is.

If you, like myself, are not typically enamored by melodic death metal, but like the idea of what the style can be, ‘Sons of the Abandoned’ is an album very much worth seeking out. Bloodhunter takes the style in a number of directions that I wish many of the bigger names would take it. Also, the performances of everyone involved are stellar, and I like the creative choices drummer Adrián Perales makes at times. Really, ‘Sons of the Abandoned’ is worth your time if you enjoy your metal intense, aggressive, and mostly fast, but stealthily clever and not without a hint of melody.

Recommended tracks: ‘The Outspoken’, ‘No One Beats Death’, ‘Code Aeternam’