The Fathomless Mastery

Bloodbath | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 28, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Peaceville UK
• ASIN: B00197X172
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,228 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Fathomless Mastery, is the third full length album by the Swedish Death Metal band Bloodbath. It is their first full length release to feature the new guitarist Per 'Sodomizer' Eriksson on its 11 new tracks. Former Scar Symmetry vocalist Christian Žlvestam did guest vocals on track 6, "Iesous." The album generally revolves around anti-Christian themes, the last few songs detailing an apocalyptic event resulting in Hell on Earth. `Bloodbath have been responsible for some of the finest Swedish Death Metal of the last decade.' per Metal Hammer. Formed in 1998 with a mutual fascination for the glory days of Death Metal, the band's line up has changed and evolved throughout the years, featuring the elite of Swedish Metal. The next chapter of this brutal saga arrives on with the release of the 2008 studio album, The Fathomless Mastery. Hints of what the album may possess were provided by Unblessing The Purity, the mini-album released earlier this year on Peaceville Records. Described by Metal Hammer as `a near-flawless celebration of Swedish brutality'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a soundtrack through hell, December 17, 2008

By 

Kory C. Bentley (Afghanistan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fathomless Mastery (Audio CD)

If this is what's playing in hell, I can't wait to get there. This is in my opinion the best deathmetal album of 08 by far. Everything about it just shakes my bones! It sucks to see such a diverse of a musician as Swano leave, but they fill his place with a more "purist" death metal guitarist being Per Eriksson. And it really shows in the diversity and technicality throughout the album. I wish I could see these guys live! The Wacken Carnage is the next best thing. I heard a live track from TWC on a midnight metal radio show in seattle a little over a year ago and I bought pretty much every album that they've put out with the exception of Breeding Death EP, because it was pretty hard to find. I listen to the fathomless mastery in its entirety before every mission I go out on, which is literally every day. Nothing makes my blood boil like this album can.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mikael Akerfeldt's alter ego., December 21, 2008

By 

ceffalo - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fathomless Mastery (Audio CD)

This is the new album by Bloodbath, released just a couple of months prior to today. I own their previous two efforts and it's amazing how close to the roots of their sound this band keeps. That's especially amazing considering that this is a supergroup of members from completely different, and highly successful, other bands. Ever heard of Opeth? Two of the members who worked on The Fathomless Mastery are integral to Opeth's 2008 release, Watershed.

I find that kind of work ethic in metal music composers to be absolutely amazing. There are some great American metal bands, but these European fellows seem to have nothing else better to do than make us some great music, and I am really appreciative of that.

As I said in the review title, this is Mikael Akerfeldt's (Opeth) alter ego. In his other band he attempts to make death metal into something beautifully progressive, and he achieves that wonderfully. Opeth has created some of the finest music I've ever heard.

So, what's with Bloodbath? Well, they are also death metal, but the complete opposite of Opeth in what they do. The songs are much shorter, the direction is far more brutal and tense. The metal, is well, more metal.

The Fathomless Mastery seems to be an effort in blasphemy as well. It seems deliberately opposed, at least as an album concept, to anything Christian. How metal, right?

Metal fans who enjoy brutal riffs and fast paced style will fully enjoy this album. Anyone who loves Slayer will thoroughly enjoy Bloodbath, who I think is really better.

The album dives right into a frenetic pace and never lets up. It speeds through like a freight train.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blasphemy!, November 18, 2008

By 

Aaron Von Raschke - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fathomless Mastery (Audio CD)

For those not familiar, Bloodbath is a Death Metal supergroup comprised of members from Katatonia, Opeth, etc.

Honestly, I don't know a lot about Bloodbath other than their album RESURRECTION THROUGH CARNAGE, which is the only one I have heard prior to THE FATHOMLESS MASTERY so that's all I have to compare it to. In other words: I'm no Swedish Death Metal expert, so take this review with a grain of salt. As far as RESURRECTION THROUGH CARNAGE is concerned, it's an album I own and play regularly when I'm in the mood for Death Metal. Everything from the cover art to the musical and lyrical content is very Horror-related which is something I can identify with. It's very groove-heavy and, sound-wise, is very unconventional as far as your standard Death Metal. THE FATHOMLESS MASTERY is more straight-forward Death Metal that relies on more blastbeats and swaying guitar riffs that tend to lean more toward that Brutal aspect as opposed to being too Technical. Overall, the entire album has an anti-Christianity theme as opposed to the more Zombie/Horror-influenced RESURRECTION THROUGH CARNAGE.

The album starts with the epic "At The Behest Of Their Death". It's short and to the point. The point being that Bloodbath is back, they're pissed, and they don't care who gets in their way. It starts the album off at a brutal pace and the pace pretty much stays the same throughout the entire album. However, the momentum of the masterpiece that is the opening track doesn't really carry over to the rest of the album. THE FATHOMLESS MASTERY starts off on a high note but doesn't really go anywhere after that and I found the rest of the album to be rather monotonous. Excellent and well done songs, but monotonous nonetheless. The only other tracks that stand out are "Iesous" and "Wretched Human Mirror". "Iesous" (which means 'Jesus') is sandwiched right in the middle of the album and is just an awesome track. It starts off with a slow, chugging riff with a drum beat that compliments it before going into the standard Death Metal blastbeat. A minute later, the song goes into a brief breakdown that sounds like something out of a Meshuggah album. Somewhere in the middle of the song is a really cool part that in which the only thing you hear is the drummer's blastbeats, a keyboard sound that sounds like a Tibetan Monk chant, and the vocalist repeating the same words over and over again, "Iesous, Yeshua, Iesous". Spooky stuff. It's like a Death Metal version of THE EXORCIST. The album's final track "Wretched Human Mirror" starts off sounding like every other track on the album until about two minutes into the song, where it totally does a 180 and shifts into an Apocalyptic breakdown that sounds like the gates of Hades opening up, while a sampled voice in the background reminds you that "everyone that you and I have ever known... is dead". Eventually the music fades off into nothing while the voice repeats "there is no God". The album ends on a note just as epic as how it started.

Overall, personal gripes aside, THE FATHOMLESS MASTERY is a solid album from one of the most underrated Death Metal bands in existence. While not the most diverse record by any means, it still works as advertised. It's fast, heavy, and full of hatred. Fun for the whole family. I still like RESURRECTION THROUGH CARNAGE better, but that's just me. Any fan of Death Metal and Extreme Metal in general will be more than pleased with this album. Highly recommended for people who hate Jesus.

3.5 stars