Female fronted gothic prog metal along the lines of Nightwish, Kamelot and The Gathering

8 MP3 Songs
METAL/PUNK: Gothic Metal, METAL/PUNK: Progressive Metal

Show all album songs: Seas of Blood Songs


Details:
You have to crawl before you can walk. Portland Maine's By Blood Alone knows this quite well, having spent the first few years honing their craft. On the cusp of the national release of their debut full-length entitled Seas of Blood, they have quickened their pace and are poised to fly.

Upon formation in 2004, vocalist Cruella, guitarist John Graveside, drummer John Hoerner, bassist Jack Doran and keyboardist Jenny Williamson wasted little time. They gigged frequently throughout New England and soon afterward, rushed the release of the band's debut EP Eternally. The four songs on the debut EP were enough to quickly give By Blood Alone a foothold in the diverse Portland scene by garnering critical acclaim from local media outlets, spaces on year-end "Best Of 2005" lists and dates supporting national acts such as Joey Belladonna of Anthrax, Metal Blade recording artists Goatwhore, ex-Misfits leader Michale Graves, and New England doomsters Ocean and Shroud of Bereavement. More importantly, the band cultivated a strong local following.

At this point, By Blood Alone was getting restless. Although many were taking note of the band's unique blend of gothic melodrama and metallic bombast, the band members were already looking to escape any preconceived notions about their music.

"When we recorded the EP we just picked the four songs that we thought were the most together at the time," Graveside recalls. "and I think it gave people a mistaken impression of us. Which was that we were more stripped down and that was not what was intended by us. Those early songs were always a pathway to a more grandiose sound along the lines of Nightwish and Kamelot, but it took some steps in both writing and playing to get there."

The catalyst for change was when drummer Hoerner left amicably to concentrate on a burgeoning health care career. This led to the recruitment of Runtt, who relocated to Maine in the fall of 2005 to take over behind the kit, and finalized the definitive By Blood Alone lineup. "Getting progressive was always the goal," affirms the guitarist. "We were not able to do it until Runtt came along. He was able to handle everything we wanted to do musically and more."

The band noticed that they were headed in the right direction when audiences attending their performances started behaving differently. Graveside made parallels with jazz great, Benny Goodman, and the movie that told his story:

"It's the 1930s and Goodman and his band want to play really far out jazz, really cutting edge stuff, but all the promoters they work for didn't want that. They would ask the band if they had a gimmick, if they wore funny hats, if they told jokes...It was a huge struggle for them until Goodman decided they should do what they want and damn the consequences. So they play this gig and the assistant manager of the dancehall calls up his boss to tell him that something strange is happening with the kids in the audience. The boss asks 'what, are they going crazy? Are they wrecking the place?' The guy says, 'no, they're watching.'"

"This is exactly what happens with By Blood Alone now," he says pridefully. "We play and people stand there and watch us intensely. They're like church mice until the end of each song and then there is this gigantic cheer. I've never seen this happen with any other band, but I'll tell you this, it's pissed off some headliners."

The onstage intensity of the band's new material that mesmerized fans shines through on Seas Of Blood while still possessing similarities to the album's predecessor. By Blood Alone once again traveled to New York to record with Blue Öyster Cult soundman Steve La Cerra and the track "Deny Yourself" from the EP was rerecorded with the new lineup.

The biting guitars and powerful rhythms reminisce of the days when progressive rock actually rocked. Layered beneath are Cruella's powerful and sultry vocals which appear frequently throughout Seas Of Blood. This same intensity is evident from the very start with opener "Serpentarius." "That was always going to be our epic" comments Graveside. "The main riff is pretty thrashy, but by the time the chorus rolls around we're sort of in this metallic salsa groove and Jenny is laying down this absolutely heartbreaking keys part. She did a great job coming up with that."

Like the opening cut, "Nidhogg" also explores ancient mythology, a subject that has been a lifelong interest to lyricist Cruella, and some might see "Wants Me Dead" as Siouxie & the Banshees with an Iron Maiden gallop.

The most divergent quality of Seas Of Blood is the inclusion of several melancholic piano hymnals, "Undead Friend," the whimsical "Little Lady Lillit" and especially the bombastic title track which effortlessly combines By Blood Alone's darkness and light. This came about from a rather unexpected source: Judas Priest's little heard 2nd LP Sad Wings of Destiny, which, according to Graveside, "has been a favorite of mine since I was 15, with it's dark, beautiful pianos and thundering riffs, and I always hoped I could achieve the same someday. I think I have - I think this is my Sad Wings of Destiny."

In more ways than not, Seas Of Blood is a massive evolution for the band, but most importantly, it never collapses from the weight of its own lofty ambitions. "Our music is very stormy and dramatic," explains Graveside. "It conveys many different moods and we all work really hard to create climactic sections and turn arounds. However, unlike other prog bands, we show some restraint. Others may try to cram 25 riffs into a 5 minute song, and it's overload - the riffs whiz by with no chance for the listener to get a grasp of them. I think our approach is better. The songs contain more riffs and moods than most rock music, but nowhere near the fatigue inducing levels of some other artists. There is always an interesting contrast or transition and never seeeming to dull. Couple this with the fact that Cruella is such a captivating performer who really makes it all come alive. We're just happy that we were able to translate that onto the record."