Album Review: Bloodyard - Orchard of Corpses
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
It may have taken ten years but it’s finally here. ‘Orchard of Corpses’ is the debut long player from the four-piece groove/death metal outfit who are based in the North East of England. The band consists of Donna Hurd on vocals, Nick Adamson on guitar, Dave Cowley on bass, and Matty Lee on drums. It’s fair to say that the band have been patiently blending their mixture of old school death metal with modern thrash, as well as the odd splash of black metal, grindcore, and doom. Unsurprisingly, there are comparisons with the likes of Lamb of God, Cannibal Corpse, and Bolt Thrower but this is a brooding, huge release. Winners of the 2015 Metal To The Masses competition, the band have already appeared at Catton Hall and have burst eardrums at several other UK festivals including Hammerfest, Mammothfest, Hordes and Eradication (Manchester) in 2019.
With two EPs under their belt, Bloodyard are no strangers to the recording process, and it shows in this 42-minute slab of powerful raging death metal. Opening with the thrashing ‘Blood Begets Blood’, this is a fiery and bumpy ride which requires strapping in. From this moment on, Bloodyard simply punish with a range of brutal riff abuse and slabs of death metal so heavy they would crush an elephant from mere feet above. There is a fusion of styles, but there is no shortage of passion and power. The 2:25 slamming ‘Rupture the Mask’ will please the extreme fans and underpins all that is good about this album. It’s ferocious, gnarly, and intense.
As I worked my way through this massively enjoyable album, I was wondering where the groove references were located. Cue ‘Stack the Pyre’, a driving LOG/Cannibal Corpse mutation which must be an absolute monster when played live. Huge swathes of groove combined with the chainsaw chug and raging vocals, driven forward with a gargantuan force of energy. The curved ball arrives at the end in the shape of a nine minute plus monster, ‘Antithesis’, which adds jagged chunks of doom into the mix. It’s a smouldering bruiser of a song, the slow chug and guttural vocals slowly building momentum. And it’s only at the end you remember that Hurd’s vocals are sonically able to match any male musician in the scene today. Her voice is powerful, focused and massively impressive. If you like your death metal forged any of the combinations listed in the first paragraph, then this album is an essential listen.
