Review: “Blood Bound” by Sin Of God

At no point during the touring cycle for their critically acclaimed third album “Aenigmata“ did anyone foresee that the next magnum opus from Hungarian Extreme Metal masters Sin Of God would take nine long years to surface from the black depths. Writing sessions actually took place as far back as 2019 for what would eventually become “Blood Bound” only for the band to suffer line up changes before the Great Plague struck. That might have lead to the untimely demise of the band but original drummer Botyánszki Balázs (ex-The Konstellation, Sacramental Blood) had other ideas. He remained the last man standing from the line up that issued that infamous 2016 album and took his time to painstakingly recruit new blood and rebuild from the ground up. The album was finally recorded at Denevér Hangstúdió in Hungary between 2022 and 2023 with bassist Michele Gawen Augello, guitarist Tamás Kis and vocalist Tamás Schupkégel (Mors Silens) completing the cryptic writings. Since then Augello has exited stage left to be replaced by Krisztián Páncél (ex-Eradication, ex-Stigma).

During their career to date themes of anti-religion, nightmares and murder have been the behind the creations of Sin Of God and “Blood Bound” is no different. Mixed and mastered by Sam Winslow and adorned by artwork from guitarist Tamás Kis, the album begins with the title track and takes absolutely no prisoners. A restless and relentless pummelling of blast beats begins immediately and never stops as Balázs seeks to make up for lost time, the new recruits holding on for dear life as they fear a skull splitting. Technical Death Metal with moments of Deathgrind is what is written on this prescription, Depths Of Depravity and Aborted almost immediately springing to mind in if you wanted a style comparison. Schupkégel’s vocals circle the drain of the unhinged as the menacing and sinister darkness of the rhythmic dexterity prevails, the musicians clearly having a bloodlust for violent turbulence. Shifting like the desert sands of the Sahara in storm the four piece slow things down and move into Death Groove territory with “Black Waves“, a ferocious cut of monumental scale. Schupkégel is bullish with his tale of depravity as he cuts against the grain of slab after concrete slab of riffage and clanky bass, the lyrical narrative dark and brooding all the while. The bass line Michele Gawen Augello offers up on “No Return” is so good that it feels like the work of Steve Di Giorgio (Testament, Death) and all that’s missing from this cut is a flamboyant solo to set it off. Instead the quartet demonstrate their preference for rhythmic prowess and with Schupkégel sounding demonic during a bridge of pure evil, it almost feels like their whirlwind of percussive battery and buzzsaw strings are keeping the flames from becoming a towering inferno.

An all out sonic assault on the senses delivered at a breakneck pace, “The Unbelief” is another lethal dose of Hungarian hatred. Even the whispers during a fleeting moment of atmosphere in the centre of this one sound hauntingly evil, so if you were expecting some acoustic ballad, guess again because this isn’t for the faint of heart or weak of mind. Towards the end this pummelling has a little dissonance about it that takes us into God Syndrome territory before smashing the clock in fear. The award for the longest cut on the record goes to “Diabolical Agitation” which approaches the eight minute mark with mid-tempo grit and determination intertwined the bursts of blast beats and groove laden bass. That gracious rise and fall works really well in the first half before the band drift into an almost psychedelic passage that you might usually expect from something a little more avant-garde. It’s a change of direction that adds a little more fun to the record in a twisted kind of way, the four piece not afraid to expand their horizons to see where it might take them. Transcending into Progressive Death Metal from there is logical and the band do so in stunning fashion with the bass acting as a second rhythm guitar.

Then comes the blistering “Obulus“, a brutal cut that increases the intensity along with the tempo as calloused hands work smouldering fretboards to their limits. Throat shredding vocals from Schupkégel add to the hammer blow and by the end you’re left wondering what you just heard. As if that wasn’t enough “Cerebral Malfunction” finishes the album will an Old School Death Metal rampage that sounds like a genre tour de force with 90’s Florida Death Metal influences. The buccaneering spirit of the quartet pays off in spades as this one hits with the force of Thor’s hammer. As an album, “Blood Bound” breaks your door down with an axe and screams “We’re Back!” like Jack Nicholson’s deranged character Jack Torrance in the Kubrick classic “The Shining” [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Blood Bound
2. Black Waves
3. No Return
4. The Unbelief
5. Diabolical Agitation
6. Obulus
7. Cerebral Malfunction

“Blood Bound” by Sin Of God is out 18th February 2028 via Extius Stratagem Records