Live albums serve to many different reasons, and it’s usual to celebrate a special date for a band, or even the closing of a chapter on a band’s history (many fans consider that “Live After Death” was the ‘ritual of passage’ for IRON MAIDEN from a growing act to a major one on 1985). So, what’s the Swedish quintet BLOODBOUND up to with “Bloodbound - The Tales of Nosferatu Two Decades of Blood”? It was recorded at the Masters of Rock Festival 2023, in Vizovice, CZ, July 15 2023 (during the tour of the past full-length, “Tales from the North”, released back on 2023). It’s obvious that the album was mixed and mastered on their own Studio (Bloodbound Studio) by the band, but guided by the sense and things were worked in a form to guarantee that their music must sound alive and not artificially corrected on studio.

They reached such goal, because it sounds alive and truly full of energy, with an excellent artwork done by Péter Sallai (with a comic telling the story of the band’s mascot Nossen). The band is celebrating its 20th anniversary, that’s reason enough for a live album, with a strong and heavy way into Power/Heavy Metal, but always with that ‘Swedish Metal DNA’ clear. It’s heavy and strong, filled with excellent melodies and catchy choruses (as heard on “In the Name of Metal”), and although the formula can sound a bit eroded due the time, it’s always good to hear a band working with it in its own way.

Live albums work in a different sense from studio albums, because it’s a reunion of the band’s music throughout their career from “Unholy Cross” (2011) to “Tales from the North” (2023) (what’s a pity, because BLOODBOUND has 9 studio full-lengths on its shoulders, and songs from their past albums from 2005 to 2009 are absent, with the exception of “Nosferatu”, from their first album), so its hard to choose better moments. So to have a deeper reading on the album, the best to do is to let it roll and enjoy what’s offered on “Bloodtale” (just an intro), “Tales from the North”, “Slayer of Kings”, “In the Name of Metal”, “When Fate is Calling”, “A New Era Begins”, “Battle in the Sky”, “Drink with the Gods”, “The Warlock’s Trail”, “Moria”, “Creatures of the Dark Realm”, “Rise of the Dragon Empire”, and “Nosferatu”. Of course, the fans will have different versions, full of that essential live energy, and all of them are very good.

The package includes a Blu-Ray disk with all the songs of the show, more from a live show in Shibuya, Tokyo, JP, on August 30 2019, and official videoclips. So this release can be said as a ‘must have’ by their fans. After all, “The Tales of Nosferatu Two Decades of Blood” is an amazing release, and it’s a great celebration for BLOODBOUND’s anniversary, so enjoy it!