Blood in the Water is the fourteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam, which was released on June 4, 2021. It is the band's first release with new bassist Bill Bodily, who had replaced Michael Spencer in November 2020. Now despite what their name says, these Phoenix thrashers are far from an expandable waste lost on oceans. Self-titled album brought them back to relevance, giving us such instant classics like 'Iron Maiden' or 'Time to Go'. Hell, they even remade 'Forbidden Territories' from old demo recording of 'No Place for Disgrace'. But it wasn't consistent record, it felt overproduced (with Eric Knutson's vocals being the biggest victim here) and it definitely could've been cut of 2 songs. Meanwhile 'The End of Chaos' was pretty good, but it did feel a bit too monotonous at times, and it also could have cut a couple of songs to make it feel a bit more fluid. This trend sadly continues on 'Blood in the Water', but despite that, it is a great record in its own right.
I gotta tell you, the anticipation for this album was tough. Waiting for months without any interesting premieres in other media, with very few songs released, one could think "what will Flotsam and Jetsam bring to the table this time?". We were all kept wondering "Will it give something new, or will we receive 'The End of Chaos, Pt. II'?", Well, one thing is certain, Flotz' are sticking to thrash, with some heavy and power mixed in.
Even if pre-released 'Burn the Sky' did trick me in its intro that Eric and rest of the band wanted to go back to the perplexing 'The Cold' vibes. But nah, 20 seconds later we're treated to badass riffs and masterful drumming, courtesy of Ken Mary. Eric also sells it all in vocals, going for some high-pitched yelling ('Burn the Sky', 'Brace for Impact'), vocal melodies ('Undone', 'A Place to Die')... Hell, in 'Grey Dragon' (yes, other "mainstream" websites, this song is called 'GREY Dragon', not just 'Dragon', you morons) there are even moments of growling! It's very brief, but it's a nice contrast to the "Ooooh" moments Flotz' loves to introduce and fits perfectly to this bat-shit insane song.
This album is certainly a lot more aggressive than previous releases. Just compare riffs from 'Seventh Seal' or 'Demolition Man' to 'Blood in the Water' (the song), 'Burn the Sky' or aforementioned 'Grey Dragon'. Michael Gilbert and others weren't lying when they said Flotz' is pissed on this record. That, thankfully, didn't detracted them from putting melody to the songs. It's all fun and great when band goes all out on the likes of 'Brace for Impact' or 'Seven Seconds 'Til the End of the World', but it is also important to give some spin to them, not just resort to mindless whiplash. 'Blood in the Water' (the album) also introduces some variety in songs themselves, it's no longer just "medium/bit faster/fast paced" stuff. The albums gives some room to breathe in the likes of 'The Walls', 'Too Many Lives' and 'Undone', keeping it slow, but still heavy. Hell, there is even a ballad! What it would be, 3rd, 4th in Flotz' discography? Well, anyway, 'Cry for the Dead' works pretty well for what it's trying to achieve.
However, 'Blood in the Water' (the album) is not perfect. 'Too Many Lives' and 'Reaggression' are pretty mediocre, and they could have been easily cut out. Bass guitar is lost in the mix, so it's hard to judge how well Bill Bodily fits the band as their new bassist. This album also has some of the more cliché lyrics in entire Flotsam and Jetsam discography. Well, it was never entirely their strong point, but sometimes you wonder how 50 year old guys could have wrote them (just look at 'Brace for Impact' - "If you don't brace for impact there's a chance to die" - kinda corny and by the numbers). Not all of them are bad though, the likes of 'Grey Dragon' and 'Cry for the Dead' would probably be the biggest highlights of this album.
There's also an issue of album structure, not surprisingly (Sorry, but three songs in a row with titles starting on "B"? And all of them being fast and relentless? Come on, man) Meanwhile, I appreciate adding slow songs, but I think the middle part of the album relies on them too much, breaking the flow. The album closes in just 45 minutes, which I think is perfect runtime for an metal album. Even though, it's still the strongest Flotsam and Jetsam have been since debut album and No Place for Disgrace. It's not perfect, but it's a reminder of why I love Flotsam and Jetsam and why they are worth your time to check out as well. As they say, "Flotz' Til Death"!
SCORE: 4/5
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