Review: Blessings ‘Blodsträngen’
The good folks at Berlin’s premier independent post-metal champions, Pelagic Records, continue to mine the underground and bring attention to all manner of artists who push the boundaries of musical evolution and exploration. The latest to hit my playlist is the third album Blodsträngen (The Bloodline) by Gothenburg quartet Blessings.
Formed in a city that is renowned for its indelible mark left on the death metal scene (RIP Tompa), the four members were drawn together as veterans of several bands and scenes in their native Sweden with the aspirations of creating something unique. Blending their wide-ranging influences and leaving nothing off the table, they would create increasingly complex slabs of abrasive noise in the confines of their rehearsal space.
The initial result was the crust-caked, confrontational noise-rock of their 2012 debut Bittervatten, which leaned into the subversive hardcore stylings of Unsane and Black Flag with its raw and aggressive snarl. Following years of relentless touring and lengthy introspection, their second album, Biskopskniven, didn’t emerge until nine years later in 2021. That release showed a band determined to expand their arsenal to indulge greater mastery of atmospherics and dynamics.
This drift towards brooding restraint and trance-like rhythms were enabled by the addition of powerhouse drummer Mattias Rasmusson and synth player/percussionist Erik Skytt, who enabled the band to add layers of intricacy that strayed from the path of conventionality and into more esoteric moments of sonic discovery.
Blodsträngen arrives like a fever dream of undulating sounds and textures that looks to celebrate dissonant noise over the seven tracks that make up its forty-five-minute run time. This intense journey seeks to balance the violent drama of their more overt heaviness with the moody passages of self-assessment that seek to build the tension ahead of cathartic release.
To do this, the band throw the kitchen sink at the DNA of the album through a wide array of instruments. Skytt’s percussion incorporates organs, xylophone and cowbell, amongst others, to offset the thick crunch of Johan G. Winther’s sludge‑like riffing and Mattias Rasmusson’s grooves. These elements, alongside the powerful dirge bass and the raw voice of Fredrik Karlsson, give Blessings a kinship with Cult of Luna’s far‑reaching post‑metal soundscapes.
Raised On Graves opens the album with sinister tones, as the pulsing percussion pushes the rumbling bass that build to an explosive crash. Over the urgent feeling of the creeping instrumentation, Karlsson’s mournful vocals appear, which over the course of Blodsträngen veer from discordant moans to spoken word and full-throated roar.
With a foot firmly in the Jesus Lizard camp of unhinged yowls and throaty howls, they are driven more by passion than perfect execution and lends credence to the DIY punk feel that the band exude. The progressive nature of the track balances a strong Tool/Mastodon like vibe with the gritty barrage of their earlier work as the post-metal textures wrestle against the lurching rhythmic intensity and off kilter breakdowns.
In keeping with their previous records, the second track continues their tradition of having a number called Strings Of Red. This version starts with feedback and a left-field melody before morphing into a full-on thrashing battery.
Blodsträngen arrives like a fever dream of undulating sounds and textures that looks to celebrate dissonant noise over the seven tracks…
Veering from brutal rasps to visceral roars, the vocals cut through a backdrop that bristles with power. Detours into weird organ sounds and string bends serve as a counterpoint to the huge head‑banging grooves, creating an intriguing combination of savage complexity.
A nagging beat opens the start of Clean as dark, slow creeping guitars and long bass notes create a dense atmosphere that hints of an upcoming shift. When it does, it’s with a slow build into short, low vocals over a grinding bass. Almost chanting/spoken word, the track plods before a pummelling wall of guttural intensity arrives. Even after they pull back and start to build again, Blessings keep a tight, hypnotic grip on the listener, despite it being the second-longest track on the album.
No Good Thingshas a playful tone that rides over the growling bass whilst Karlsson hollers lines like ‘last night I woke up 100 times…’which feels like the bright lights of insomnia-induced madness, delirious and upbeat. As the strange melodies warp with each progressive step, feedback rains hails of distortion and unhinged brutality that exhales pent-up frustration. Featuring a climactic guitar crescendo that lies somewhere in between shoegaze and math metal pyrotechnics.
Allt Vi Kan Ge Är Upp (All We Can Give Is Up) feels more straightforward with its choppy riffing and stabbing rhythm by comparison, the vocals are a hoarse, gravelly yell over the drama that evolves. Organ sounds give a cathedral-like air to the furious hardcore as the band seems torn about which direction to take the track. Despite this, it ends strongly with one of the most impressive and isolated moments on the album.
The short blast of Copper + Dirt tips its hat to the feral sounds of Converge, but nestled in-between the previous track and the sprawling close of Through Veils Of Glass And Silica, it flies by in a blink and you’ll miss it moment.
The last entry on Blodsträngen clocks in at just over ten minutes in an epic, middle eastern flavoured journey that features some dazzling moments, but has a meandering feel that ends the album on more of a whimper than a bang.
The four members of Blessings are undoubtedly highly skilled and at times combine to great effect. Over the course of their three albums, they have shown a courageous spirit to disregard the rules and aspire to create something unique with their heady, sludgy post-metal.
Personally, not everything on Blodsträngen was a home run and there are elements that are very much an acquired taste despite the honed execution, but that should take nothing away from their ambition and dedication to making ‘disgustingly loud music together in a room’.
Label: Pelagic Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden
