Name: Unholy Cross
Brand: E1 Entertainment Dist ***
SKU: 18410608
Price: 89.01 HKD
Availability: InStock

Performer Notes

Personnel: Patrik Johansson (vocals, background vocals); Tomas Olsson (guitar); Fredrik Bergh (keyboards, programming, background vocals); Pelle Akerlind (drums); Anthony Maverick, Anders Broman (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Jonas Kjellgren.
Recording information: Bloodbound Studios, Bolln„s, Sweden; Sound Creation, Bolln„s, Sweden; The Cabin, Bolln„s, Sweden.
Photographer: Anna Svanberg.
Don't go judging this "book" by its cover, because neither the artwork -- depicting a blood-soaked demon crawling out of its grave -- nor even the title of Bloodbound's fourth album, 2011's Unholy Cross, accurately describes the music contained within. In truth, there be very few "monsters" sprinkled amidst the Swedish band's melodic brand of classic-cum-power metal (think Dream Evil, Hammerfall, Nocturnal Rites, et al., for references), but that's not necessarily a bad thing, if you're into that sort of sound and weren't misled by the packaging. Just know that horror stories and nightmare scenarios have rarely been sung to such relatively upbeat musical backgrounds, as evidenced by album opener "Moria" (surely the most cheerful visit ever made to Tolkien's doomed Dwarf kingdom) and by "Reflections of Evil" and "Message from Hell" (both of which are irresistibly chirpy speed metal chargers in the classic Helloween mode), to name but a few examples. Maybe this is why some of the album's best offerings are those where lyrics and music are better reconciled, as in positively heroic calls to arms like "The Ones We Left Behind," "Together We Fight," and the dramatic ballad "Brothers of War" (which details the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder). The message and music just fit more naturally...like an iron gauntlet, of course. All kidding aside, it's actually quite easy to be seduced by Bloodbound's simple metallic pleasures and, in time, even those surprising contradictions, so why get hung up on such minor details? Unholy Cross is pure, uncomplicated power metal entertainment defined. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

Album: Unholy Cross
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Moria
2)	Drop the Bomb
3)	Ones We Left Behind, The
4)	Reflections of Evil
5)	In for the Kill
6)	Together We Fight
7)	Dark Side of Life, The
8)	Brothers of War
9)	Message from Hell
10)	In the Dead of Night
11)	Unholy Cross

Album: Unholy Cross
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Moria
2)	Drop the Bomb
3)	Ones We Left Behind, The
4)	Reflections of Evil
5)	In for the Kill
6)	Together We Fight
7)	Dark Side of Life, The
8)	Brothers of War
9)	Message from Hell
10)	In the Dead of Night
11)	Unholy Cross