Although this E.P. has been out for almost a year now, it was only until recently that I got my hands on it, and to be honest this was the first time I’m hearing of this band, that’s one of the reasons why I love writing for The Metal Resource (TMR). It could very well be said that TMR has exposed me to some really great artists over these years and Holy blood with its signature style is one of them.

Now, Holy blood needs little introduction given the fact that they’ve been making music since the late 90s. It wasn’t until 1999 when guitarist-vocalist Fedir Buzylevych, drummer Dmytro Tytorenko, and bassist Mykhailo Rodionov came together and formed the band. Hailing from Kiev, Ukraine (I’ve always wanted to visit this place, for I’ve heard so much about it) and having played together earlier with Voice of Cryeth under different avatars, it is no surprise to state that the band comprises immense talent.

They started off playing the Hardcore Punk genre initially but as I see with time weren’t afraid to play out different styles notably Deathcore and eventually deciding to play melodic death metal for their first album. This may been attributed and influenced as newer member were recruited to band Oleksiy Furman as lead guitarist, Vira Kniazeva as keyboard player and Yevhen Tsesarev to fill in the bass. Their music is characterized by elements based on Ukrainian folk traditions and Celtic music. They incorporate ethnic instruments such as blockflute and bagpipe. The vocals are high-pitched shrieking but also incorporates folk choirs. The band list Ensiferum and Finntroll as some of their key influences. Continue reading »