Blood Dancer - Blood Dancer (2012) - Fresh old school heavy metal of the highest class - 93% (03/01/13)

Blood Dancer is a young and quite talented American power or heavy metal band from San Diego, California that keeps the spirit of bands such as Iron Maiden, Queensryche or W:A.S.P. alive these years. Despite playing a rather traditional style, the band manages to sound very fresh thanks to a surprisingly dynamic production for such an underground release. Two of the band members are also members of the melodic thrash metal band Autobomb and one can feel this heavier and faster attitude in many of the tight songs such as the energizing neckbreaker “The Herald Of War”.

This particular influence helps the band to sound not only different from their idols but also unique enough to stand out in comparison to many similar bands that rose to fame during the heavy metal revival of the last few years. These guys here are at least as good and mostly even clearly better than similar bands from all around the world such as Bullet, Dark Light, Rusted, Ryder, Screamer, Vacant Throne, Vanderbuyst, White Wizzard, XSpendX and so on that I’ve also tried out during the last year. If you like any of these bands, be sure not to miss Blood Dancer and to spread their name.

The band employs many speedy and short tracks with great guitar solos and gripping riffs without getting too progressive as in the strong “Death To The Saints”. In less than three minutes and a half, everything is said and done from stunning solos over a tight drumming, an energizingly pumping bass guitar up to the stunning vocals. I really do appreciate the vocals as they sound grounded and melodic and not too forced or artificially high pitched as it's the case for many similar bands. The vocals really give this band a unique face and shape.

In the slower and epic “Palace Of Bones”, the vocals even remind me a little bit of a more grounded version of Dio or a cleaner kind of Savatage which are very strong references. This tracks has a darker atmosphere but doesn’t lose its time and introduces many great ideas and changes of speed and style which makes this track a true highlight. The epic closer “Last Stand Of The Pagan Kings” hits exactly the same vein and shows once again what this band is already able to produce.

While the whole band is great, the vocals really stand out for me and I’m looking forward to hear more from these guys very soon. The only missing thing on this release is maybe a few catchy hooks or choruses for the masses and concert crowds that this band will hopefully attract in the future but the songs nevertheless grow and grow with each new try.