From Falun, Sweden, we have another good addition to the melodic metal scene with a little theatrics added to it. The band is BLOOD BOUND created in 2005, and they are releasing their 11th album Tales From The North via AFM Records. After a few formation changes, the band shows a solid work with the chemistry of the recent formation and invites you to enjoy a mix of epic fast and mid paced metal tunes with good vocals and their keyboardist well present in the mix. Taking you back to the medieval times and mythical gods, the album invites you to sing along chants of war in a well produced package. Drinking from the fountains of AT THE GATES, NIGHTWISH and OPETH, the band firmly represents the traditions of Scandinavian metal. Living in such beautiful and historic Scandinavian countries will surely give any band a variety of themes that are a perfect match for epic melodic speed metal. BLOOD BOUND takes advantage of this telling us a variety of tales in their songs.

With a nice acoustic guitar intro, and a nice keyboard arrangement following the vocal melody, the band introduces the title song "Tales From The North". With galloping drums, powerful vocals and also backing vocals, the song reminds me a little of the great ANGRA. Good guitar solo as well. The band has 2 good guitar players with brothers Tomas Olsson and Henrik Olsson. A flute introduction invites you to "Drink With The Gods" in this good second song. You can imagine yourself in a medieval celebration with a lot of wine, warriors, naked women and the obvious lack of basic hygiene and etiquette. Everybody singing along for the gods. A concert favorite for sure. "Odin's Prayer" starts with a guitar duet and a long scream to the nordic god. With the solid work of drummer Daniel Sjögren in the double pedal, the song travels to the mythical land of Asgard with interesting tempo breaks and guitar dexterity.

The energy level stays high with "The Raven's Cry" that has a catchy melody telling the glory of the battle and dying by the sword. The formula is working so far. With an eerie keyboard introduction, "Mimir's Crystal Eye" starts to set the mood. Mimir is a figure in Norse mythology, renowned for his knowledge and wisdom, who was beheaded unfortunately. The legend says that Odin used to carry his head around for some reason. The band has a solid backing vocal work in every song with many members of the band filling their backing vocal duties. This is well displayed in this song. We pass the halfway point with "Between Enemy Lines" with a good chorus and good melody. However, I'm starting to feel that the album reached a plateau and is kind of stuck in there. I am missing a little surprise. An out of the box arrangement, or a different flavor in the melody.

"Land of Hope" starts more or less with the same formula already used. A medieval introduction with the cut to the double bass speed. Despite a good cutting guitar solo, the songs are starting to sound more or less the same at this stage and this is a little concerning. The band has a good singer with  Patrik J. Selleby, that is able to reach high notes with ease. His type of vocals is usually essential for this metal genre. In Addition to a nice live performance, his character has little horns instead of hair. For real, go check it.  His singing capabilities are well displayed in every song. Another double bass oriented tune starts with "Sail Among The Dead". The band has good arrangements and melodies, but the formula is getting a little too much. A somewhat different middle part on half tempo gives me some hope, but eventually we go back to double bass drum speed. I understand that these are the pillars of this style of metal, but if you want to get ahead of the pack, you have to throw a little bit more originality. Maybe a different tempo song? With more different moods? The songs in this album are also quite short for the style. Much more can be explored.

"Stake my Claims" heard my claim and changed the tempo a little. With a good arrangement, the song is one of the best so far in my opinion. A classic hard rock tune with strong chorus and riff, shows that the style has many variants that can be explored. The band has a very good keyboard player and main back singer in Fredrik Bergh. His role is a must for every epic melodic metal band. The keyboard sets the mood and complements the symphonic output transporting you to medieval times.  Competent keyboardist. Another good tune is "Sword and Axe" despite going back to the same formula, but this time at half speed. With a catchy chorus for the masses to sing along, the song is another one that may be popular in concerts. Actually, all of the songs in this album are made to sing along. Actually, all songs in the world are made to sing along.

I cannot forget the solid but discreet work of bass player Anders Broman. He never compromises and he is glued to the drum beat in almost every song. Despite the good bass sound in the mix, I believe that the bass always has something more to say in the arrangement if allowed. We reach the end of our journey with the high energy of "Bloodbound". Another double bass extravaganza. Good guitar work and great screams. An interesting acoustic innuendo in the middle and a chorus calling you to battle. You know, some reviews are harder than others. When you are pleasantly surprised by a song, even a part of a song, the words will flow like the Amazon river. If the next song of the album is more or less the same as the next one, that is more or less the same as the next one until the end, the review flows like New Delhi traffic. The band is solid and their output is good, but I believe they are too much locked on the epic speed style using formulas already trademarked in several bands. A safe album for the genre and missing a little audacity. That extra thing that makes your band unique.

Good artwork in the album's cover.