It’s really a small world; I contacted BY BLOOD ALONE and got a response from John Graveside and it seems back in the day, the man only lived a few towns away from where I live now. As John moved forward in his music career, he uprooted himself, moved to Portland, Maine, and founded BY BLOOD ALONE back in 2004.

The band released one EP in 2005 called “Eternally” and set forth to conquer the world with their new CD “Seas of Blood.” You would think judging by the name of the band they would play hardcore aggressive death metal but on the contrary they play Goth. Listening to the opening track “Serpentarius” the band has the right objective with some tantalizing guitar picking, molded within the breaks of keyboards.

“Wants Me Dead” is a good track but it would stand out much more if the production was better. The music is essentially good, but without the funding, the band just doesn’t have the production quality that could make a bigger impact on the disc.

Overall, the music wasn’t bad and the songs have good meaning but just wasn’t something I was highly directed to. I felt the songs need the big power punch and ambiguity of the tracks. Cruella’s vocals were pure and smooth but didn’t have the highs and low that made her shine. I did however, like the guitar work, unfortunately it was veiled and I wish it was given a little more consideration, especially during the song “Seas of Blood.” “Seas of Blood” is the highlight track and I am sure would be a killer track if the production was better. To me BY BLOOD ALONE falls in between Folk Metal and Goth and do have a chance to be successful with a bigger sound.