I love this band, easily one of the best 'newer' but old school sounding death metal bands.
I heard the Breeding Death EP about 10 years ago around the time it got released, I heard about it from a friend who was deep into death metal and he suggested the band to me as he knew I was into old school death metal like Morbid Angel, Obituary, Malevolent Creation and the like.
For me, Breeding Death still epitomizes the classic death metal sound. Even though the EP comes across as more of a tribute, it mixes all the elements that make up good death metal songwriting.
I was somewhat disappointed when Bloodbath's first full-length album, Resurrection Through Carnage, was released several years later. The classic death metal sound that made the band stand out on Breeding Death were all but gone to my ears. The production felt very out of place and there were hardly any real memorable moments, unlike on the EP where each song had a distinct sound.
Thankfully the band rectified the shortcomings of Resurrection... on the follow-up sophomore release of Nightmares Made Flesh. With Peter Tagtren replacing Mikael Akerfeldt, the aggressive / brutal delivery of the EP felt reinstated. The songwriting too serves as a good reminder of Bloodbath's initial output. Although the production sounds a bit more refined and modern than on Breeding Death, all the elements of old school death metal are still there.
The Fathomless Mastery once more saw the return of Mikaael Akerfeldt. The band first released an EP teaser of sorts showing off more or less the stylistic direction of Fathomless...
I wasn't too impressed with the EP, I felt the band had once again abandoned their old school death metal sound in favour of trying to sound different / more modern - amp up its appeal if you will to a new generation of fans. That was just my impression. I had similar feelings towards Fathomless... when I first heard it. However, after a while of not listening to it at all and kinda forgetting of its existence I went back to the album, giving it several proper spins. I like it better now but still not nearly as much as Breeding Death or Nightmares Made Flesh. I would say however that it is their 3rd best release to date. There are some real good head moving numbers like Mock the Cross, Iesous, Earthrot and a few others but those were the songs which stood out the most for me.
My only criticism of the new Bloodbath releases is the lyrical direction. In the past Bloodbath dealt primarily with gore / horror and the like, cliched I know but it works. The Satanic themes however are making Bloodbath sound somewhat stocky. It is almost like a watered down version of Deicide if you will. Not that Satanic lyrics are any less cliched than gore/horror lyrics but to me they seem too forced.
Subject: Bloodbath 
