UMUR
"Bow Down Before the Blood Court" is the debut full-length studio album by Dutch death metal act Grand Supreme Blood Court. The album was released through Century Media Records in November 2012. The band was formed in 2009 as The Company of Undertakers, but soon changed their name to Grand Supreme Blood Court. Grand Supreme Blood Court features quite a few heavyweigths from the Dutch old school death metal scene, who have played or still play in acts like Pestilence, Asphyx, God Forsaken, Siege of Power, Hail of Bullets, God Dethroned, Soulburn, and Thanatos (just to mention a few of the acts that the involved parties are associated with)...
...the band, most of the lineup have been or are members of is Asphyx. Except for bassist Theo Van Eekelen that´s a common denominator for the other four members of the lineup. The Asphyx connection is clearly audible, as "Bow Down Before the Blood Court" more or less sounds like a forgotten Asphyx album. So it´s old school death metal of the most raw and doom laden kind. Martin Van Drunen´s distinct sounding voice and tortured growling delivery is as always an aquired taste, but no matter what you think of his voice and vocal style, they are arguably unique and instantly recognisable. The tracks are predominantly heavy and mid-paced but the band often deploy much heavier doom/death slow paces. The 9:54 minutes long closing track "... and Thus the Billion Shall Burn" even touches funeral doom territory. So this is generally a very heavy and brutal death metal release.
The sound production further enhances the feeling of impending doom and decay. It´s distorted, raw, and massive, perfectly suiting the material on the album. Not surprisingly (given the musicians involved), the musicianship is strong on all posts. Nothing flashy is being played here, but Grand Supreme Blood Court do what they do with the right kind of authenticity and passion, which is typically much more important on an old school death metal release than technical playing or clever compositional details. "Bow Down Before the Blood Court" is a solid old school death metal release through and through, and especially fans of Asphyx should take note that this exists. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.