Bloodride is among the long-term workhorses of the Finnish underground scene. Comprised of veteran players whose careers reach back to the previous millennium, the band has been churning it on since 2000 with the same line-up and after a few demos and the Bloodridden Disease EP, they lay the groundwork for their debut album with this single.

March Of The Dead starts this disc off with a surprisingly slow grind with the guitar tandem melodizing it up a bit until the mid-tempo riffage enters with a widdling lead burst, before the tempo is upped again to commendably head-ripping levels. The gruffy vocals of Jyrki Leskinen can be placed in the monotonous-yet-effective slot of the metal voices-scale somewhere between Tom Araya and Janne Joutsenniemi of Finnish thrash/speed legend Stone. The groovy mid-sections and solos aching more towards classic heavy metal shreds instead of Slayer-tinged whammy-bar killers suits the song really well, but the return of the slower guitar chug from the intro section keeps me from completely loving this song, especially in the opening slot.

Slave Of Evil brings a more traditional, late 80s-Sepultura thrash touch with a manic pace, frantic riffs and the occasional double bass flurries to entice pits within miles with vigor. The fist-pumping shout-along chorus seals the deal for me – simple and banging. Demon’s Way starts off deceptively with furious tremolo-picked riffs and keeps it similarly thrashy on occasion but again brings a very healthy dose of groove into the proceedings with a wahwah-drenched solo that has me reaching out for my ol’ Jackson SL-J2. A good closer but looking overall at these three songs, I think Slave Of Evil would’ve worked better as the opener and the more “ambitious” March Of The Dead could’ve been a more fitting finale.

My biggest plus for this single is the stellar production job. From the crunchy guitars and booming bass to especially the punchy and in-your-face drums, the soundscape crushes in balanced fashion. If similar production values can be found on the band’s aforementioned, due-in-the-fall Crowned In Hell full-length, I’m all the more looking forward to hearing it. Headbangers, take note, seek out this single or feast on their Myspace while waiting.