Tardy Brothers – “Bloodline”

“Bloodline” isn’t a new album any more, but I thought it was worth reviewing anyway…

Just in case you’ve managed to go through life without ever listening to or reading about Obituary, I’ll give you a brief heads-up on who the Tardy Brothers are. The Tardy Brothers are John and Donald Tardy and they take care of the vocal and drums duties respectively in Obituary. “Bloodline” is their album and Tardy Brothers is their side project. If you’re still not up to speed, I recommend you head over to obituary.cc and do a little reading… and a little listening!

So, how the hell am I going to describe “Bloodline”?

“Bloodline” is a beast of an album. If you’ve ever listened to Obituary, you can kind of guess what expect. Straight-forward Death Metal with insane vocals and killer guitar solos. “Bloodline” could quite easily be another Obituary album, but – for me – there is one thing that separates it: the production. I don’t know if it’s just me, or my speakers and/or earphones, the production does seem to be cleaner on this album than any Obituary album (including their newest opus “Darkest Day”). On the whole, this works well for this album and does serve to distance it from the Obituary discography. My only gripe is that I love the dirty and raw feel of the Obituary albums! The production on this album doesn’t take anything away from the listening experience, I guess it was just a little bit unexpected. A huge plus is that the guitar solos really have their chance to shine (“I’m Alive” is a fantastic example of this).

The album kicks off with “Bring You Down”, a riff-heavy monster that allows John Tardy to growl like a madman. While it does remain brutal, it carries an infectious melody that will work its way into your brain (this is aided by some superb guitar work!).
The title track seems a little more savage than “Bring You Down” and it’s one of those songs where you have to bang your head. Definitely one of my favourites from the album.
“I’m Alive” is the kind of song that I want to learn on guitar – the groove is just so (for want of a better word) awesome! Very addictive and oozing with confidence – these guys know that they don’t have to rush through things and they’re happy to let this track have a near-laidback feel. It travels along at its own pace and seems entirely organic as a result. You can almost imagine this track being the result of a jam session with a few beers.
“Deep Down” turns the pace up again and it’s at this point that I want to enter another ‘headbang-a-thon’. This is heavier than a very heavy thing.
“Wired” is a beautiful instrumental piece. That’s a weird sentence to write here, but it describes the track perfectly. It is beautiful. Listen for yourself and see what you think… and feel free to comment via the comment box thing below.
If “Wired” lulls you into a sense of security, “Fate’s Call” rips you right back out of it. The band seem to be extra aggressive here and it results in an unbelievably good track. There’s nothing not to like here.
For some reason “Eternal Lies” didn’t grab me as fast as the other tracks on the album, but after a few listens it really grows on you.
“Scream Descendent” has some superb guitar work. I really can’t stress how good this is!
The album closes with “Fade Away” – a track that definitely doesn’t just fade away. Pace-wise it has more in common with “I’m Alive” rather than the other tracks on the album and it provides us with a great way to finish off.

It works as an album in its own right, as well as a continuation of the Obituary legacy.

Rating: 98%

tardybrothers.com

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