(written by Islander)
The last time we encountered the music of Blood Countess from York in the UK, in the run-up to their 2022 debut album Occulta Tenebris, we wrote: “The stench of sulfur and the fear of peril hang about these lunging and whirling ecstasies, and it’s not hard to imagine the flashing of bat wings and the baring of knife-sharp fangs.” Now, four years down the road from then, Blood Countess return with their second full-length, Imperatrix Sanguinis.
As explained on behalf of their label, Dominance of Darkness Records, the band “remain true to their moniker, spilling tales of Elizabeth Bathory’s reign of blood-soaked tyranny – obsession, sex, and perversion entwined with madness and hatred for humankind – all led by the invective throat of frontwoman The Cuntess”.
As a sign of the merciless but head-spinning slaughter that the new album delivers, what we have for you today is the premiere of the record’s second single, “The Scavenger’s Daughter“.
As before, the vocals are still a big reason why the music of Blood Countess is so viscerally terrorizing. As you’ll discover (or re-discover) through “The Scavenger’s Daughter“, the screams are fanatically unhinged — raw and near-strangled but still viciously wanting your jugular in their teeth.
Behind those maddened and malicious vocals the guitars are equally maniacal, creating a feverishly roiling and writhing swarm of sound above furiously hammering drums and vividly rumbling low frequencies. But the crazed fretwork has other tricks up its sleeves — the lead guitar also vividly and mysteriously darts about, embellishing the song with supernatural accents of macabre gothic horror, and the riffing also whirls and spins like levitating witches.
The drumming also changes constantly, sometimes slowing the song’s rabidly propulsive momentum and allowing the bass to be better heard in its ghoulish murmuring and nimble cavorting. The guitars continue to sizzle and broil but they also change the mood, channeling sensations of fear and misery in the midst of the berserker rampages.
This will get your blood rushing even as it ravenously exsanguinates you:
Dominance of Darkness will release Imperatrix Sanguinis on April 24th, on CD and vinyl LP formats. Find more info via the links below. We’ve also included a stream of the album’s first single, “Chains of Misdeed“.
DOMINANCE OF DARKNESS:
https://www.dod-records.de
https://www.facebook.com/dominanceofdarkness
BLOOD COUNTESS:
https://www.facebook.com/bloodcountessofficial