After acquiring a line-up that updated what was once a one-man band, Dragsholm released their debut album ‘From the Bloodlines of Bram’, which showcases various interesting influences from traditional works of Melodic Death and Black Metal with a Punk edge.
Although a few songs such as ‘Irina’s Heart’ and ‘Thorns For Mina’ are re-recorded from their earlier EPs (albeit down-tuned), the production sounds heavier, darker, and full, making it much more aggressive and appropriate for head-banging than before. The songwriting here is full of emotion; often-times Dragsholm likes to lure the listener in with their Second Wave roots, before switching tastefully from those triumphant and bittersweet passages to sinister crushing Death Metal riffs.
All of this is backed by gnarly cavernous gutturals, which have a cadence that adds to the memorability of the melodies. Some particular moments on the album really shine, in particular the Slayer-esque guitar solo on ‘I Am the Impaler’ and the insanely catchy bridge riff that appears roughly 20 seconds into ‘A Coffin Unscathed’, which is my favorite track overall.
While the style Dragsholm plays here is nothing particularly groundbreaking, it is certainly a great sound to chase, and ‘From the Bloodlines of Bram’ proves they know how to do it very well.
