Around the turn of the year, the Swedish Black Metal band Blodtår released their self-titled debut EP, with the CD version by the very end of last year and its vinyl issue a few weeks later in early 2022. A quick look at its ranks might help to know what you’re up against, we do recognize Mystruin and ex-Hetroertzen live drummer Hebert Alarcon Cerna and yet another hint for a good quality release is the involved label, Nordvis Produktion.
And the EP, merely clocking at the 15 minute mark, definitely lives up to its expectations, created by the band’s personnel and the participating label. First of all, Blodtår sounds nothing like Mystruin, so any comparison fails, except that both entities play Black Metal. But within that musical spectrum they have completely different backgrounds. Blodtår has a far sharper sound, not only in riffing but also in its production, making it a little comparable to Sorhin. It has this similar impenetrable shrill and sharp sound, that tends to drill your skull and infect your brains. Yet it is not only that slight inaccessibility what makes Blodtår so appealing, tucked deep down in the blistering Black Metal onslaught is an almost Pagan-like melodicism. It is exactly that mix of the ultimately raw sound, scorchingly sharp guitars and those catchy melodies that gives Blodtår its very unique experience. At the tail end of the EP they have a beautiful acoustic sort of outro, giving the release a perfect and even soothing ending.
It might only be 15 minutes, but the EP definitely left an impression. The songs are crafted downright superbly and the combination of the piercing Black Metal and its distinct, yet muffled Pagan melodicism is just sui generis.
