Nuclear Blast
7/10
The greatest bands always spawn a massive breeding of clones behind; some are good, some are bad. Am I Blood is surely one of the former group. The Finnish outfit plays what Metallica should have released instead of that “load” (of shit) two years ago.
Am I Blood (formerly known as St. Mucus, monicker under which they released “Natural Mutation” and “Am I Blood”) provide good thrashy riffs (the one of “Day Will Be Executed” seems to be taken out from “Kill’Em All”), good Metallica-styled tempos and changes of rhythm and well-worked melodies brilliantly produced by Danne Bergstrand (Face Down, Meshuggah, Stuck Mojo…).
Other songs such as “Segregated Holocaust” or “Suffocated Love” have nice acustic guitar-based melodies that serve as a grateful break into their usual maelstrom of Hetfieldish riffs and vocals (Singer Janne Kerminen has the same voice as ex-mighty Jaymz! Sometimes I think I’m listening to the old Metal cowboy instead of this guy who is behind the mic just because former vocalist Pasi left the band to join Amorphis).
Metallica are more than dead and Am I Blood are the rightful inheritors of their throne. From the warm, sunny California to the cold, snowy Finland, thrash metal still breeds its evil…