If you’re looking for skull-crushing, symphonic, technical death metal, Sanguine River Absolution, the debut album from Blood Thirsty is something you will want to pick up. Before even getting into details, it has to be mentioned that this is even a solo project from Derek Corzine. Influences abound on this album and part of the fun is picking all of them out. Without giving anything away, listeners will be able to discern bits and pieces here and there that instantly remind them of the greats death/technical/black metal but these are just influences, not copying and this makes the effort that much more enjoyable.
The history of Blood Thirsty is a bit more complex than just the solo project it ended up being. Metal veteran Derek Corzine (Whisper from Heaven, Syringe, ex-Bloodline Severed) started Blood Thirsty as a project with Rev. James Rich back in the late 1990’s as a way to make brutally heavy music focused on Jesus Christ. For Sanguine River Absolutin, Rev. James Rich contributed some of the riffs in a few songs and interestingly, lyrics are all based off sermons that Derek heard over the summer of 2013 and focus mostly on the majesty of God and overcoming sin. Meanwhile all music, vocals, and recording was done by Derek Corzine.
Sanguine River Absolution wastes no time in setting up the listener for what is to come. The opening track “Slaughtering Sin” opens up with a slow crunchy, riff, that is quickly joined in by hammering double bass, a black metal shriek, and then keyboards and symphonic elements, with a nice guitar fill all within the first 30 seconds of the song. In this mix, which may seem a bit chaotic and overwhelming is a strong sense of order and (gasp) melody that really pulls things together. Many bands within this genre struggle to keep that sense of order or maybe don’t even want it, but end up with songs veering close to noise. Then again, there really are not a plethora of bands out there mixing death, technical, symphonic, and black metal elements into the same song.
“Mercy of the Storm” changes things up a bit and is characterized primarily by the driving, chugging riff throughout the song that has the orchestral and choral elements mostly toward the background providing atmosphere except in the moments between verses when they become more prominent. Throughout the album, production is excellent and despite the complexity of the arrangements, instruments can be clearly heard. My one issue is that I feel the guitars are tad bit too quiet when the symphonic and orchestral elements are present as those seem to dominate. This is just my preference and in the big picture a minor issue as it’s not like you can’t hear the guitars, I would just like them louder and maybe a bit more raw sounding in tone.
What I also appreciate is the variety of approaches in the songs. “When the Flesh Explodes” starts out with some fast riffs and bass that if you didn’t know better, you might think would lead into a thrash song. Then the orchestral elements come in and the verse section slows into a rhythmic pounding beat before speeding back up and having some good interplay between the guitar and the orchestral elements. Like many songs on the album, there are a lot of twists and turns not only between different songs but often within the same song but they are crafted in such a manner that it fits together.
“Behold the Fire” closes the album and opens with cries of those in terror or pain before starting out with a heavy orchestral presence that leads into some fast riffs. The song from time to time also prominently features some piano to add to its uniqueness. Fittingly, the guitars and drums fade away leaving only the piano to close the album. Certainly not what was expected but somehow it all makes sense within the context of the rest of the album.
With projects like this, the inevitable question around what bands do they sound like since it’s a new band that isn’t widely known. My ears hear a mix of Broken Flesh, Cannibal Corpse, Extol, I Built the Cross, Dimmu Borgir, Abated Mass of Flesh, Mourn In Silence, Sepratist, and I would imagine many other cool bands listeners will know. Notice that this is a mix of those bands, the overall sound of Blood Thirsty stands on its own.
Rating: 8/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist:
01. Slaughtering Sin 3:37
02. Mercy of the Storm 4:29
03. Crush the Head of the Serpent 2:47
04. The Day the Devil Lost 3:48
05. Omniscient 3:29
06. Chaos Conqueror 5:06
07. When the Flesh Explodes 4:32
08. The Engrafting 4:38
09. Blinded 3:35
10. Scared to Death 3:27
11. Behold, the Fire 3:54
Band Members
Derek Corzine – All instruments, vocals
Record Label: Independent, July 2014
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
USA: Metal Helm
Lyric Video ‘Behold the Fire’
Video for ‘Omniscient