If we really felt like it, we could sit here for months on end and talk about the lasting impact of current genre titans on the newest generation of bands without stopping for anything and still only scratch the surface. That’s something that I feel is particularly prudent with metal given how the style is both self-perpetuating through revering classic sounds and self-evolving through its many forms of innovation. Just to focus on one, death metal is something that is extremely attached to both concepts, but that doesn’t stop new acts from coming out of practically nowhere to bring us something that’s no less than monolithic.

Bleedskin is a perfect example of what happens when you take years of revering classic acts, as well as newcomers that are making a damn good impact, and those listeners becoming so inspired to create something of their own. We could list any number of acts from any year which that would also apply to, but it’s with Bleedskin that does it more than enough justice with its first full-length alone potentially being enough to propel Bleedskin into becoming something that must be heard by the larger scene. Everything about “Blood Reign” is done so supremely well with tons of talent to back it up to the point that it’s hard for me to sit here and try to not call it a work that feels cater-made for the modern death metal fan in virtually every fashion from the cover art to the songwriting to the energy of the musicians doing no less than setting up this band for true greatness. The very blood of the listener is brought to a searing boil with the extreme energy that’s always on the table. The riffs are no less than bone-crushing as Bleedskin makes them all so dangerously acidic to the point where you develop an irresistible addiction to their power. The talent absolutely pierces the soul with such ferocity that it buckles the knees and tears that paltry soul in two. “Blood Reign” brings so fucking much forth that I still cannot get over what these eleven tracks were able to accomplish with the name Bleedskin still being a new name to the style, and I will consider it a grand felony against everything death metal if this band goes unheralded as an undeniable need-to-know force in the coming years as their horrifying power surely grows! This is the epitome of an act that’s not to be slept on, and you should be ashamed if you catch yourself asleep in the presence of Bleedskin.

Instead of letting their influences take over who they are in every facet, Bleedskin manages to overcome such a potentially dull fate by carving a path of their own that is truly their own whilst simultaneously paying homage and great respect to those very names in a fashion that is beyond suiting for their ilk. “Blood Reign” has everything you could ever ask for out of a record like this, and I can’t wait to see where these extremely talented musicians take their ferocity next.

LISTEN to “Blood Reign” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Bleedskin on Facebook here.