Style: melodic black metal
Primary Emotions/Themes: Wolves, night, nature
Thoughts: Blood Stronghold is a band I got into because I really liked Runespell. The same raw energy and ferocity that I found in Runespell came across here as well, just in a slightly rawer form.
Melodic black metal is a genre I have a mixed relationship with. I tend to prefer the music to be more visceral and violent, and melody tends to be in direct conflict with that. However, there are bands that sometimes harness that same ferocity while keeping melody at the forefront. This is the draw of Blood Stronghold.
The music is as dark and as violent as almost any of the more typical black metal I have, yet they intertwine these hooks that give the music memorable moments in ways that typical black metal does not. It gives the music character and allows Blood Stronghold to stand out in a way that is rather rare in a saturated genre.
The Triumph of Wolfish Destiny is a fun listen. Is it unique? No, but it does offer just a bit extra compared to most of the black metal field. It's enough to keep my interest and for me to return to the album just a tad more frequently than I normally would.
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