Draven - Massacre Blood Club

Just two years after Draven’s seminal album “Abyssal Arcana” released and gave me goosebumps, Draven comes back with their brand-new album “Massacre Blood Club”….And they do it again – for the most part.  

The intro track ‘Opening…Cold Case File’ gives us true crime grit as a dark and grim voice gives us a background on the titular Massacre Blood Club. Cults of Draven, blood, and the severity of crime are noted before synth notes roll us right into ‘Seductive Meat Grinder (Feat. Sebastian Komor)”. Probably set right after the events of the massacre as police sirens are heard blaring down the street, we’re thrust into club friendly beats that are bound to tear down the house. Plenty of breakdowns and varying degrees of beat riddled atmospheres await. 

‘Encryption (feat. Tim N)’ comes up next and provides more of a cybernetic beatdown complete with pauses for dirty synths and electronic notes to breathe viruses into the track. ‘Stained On The Mainframe’ has a music box introducing the song alongside background horror synths. It isn’t long before percussive elements and eerie piano notes join the fray before cinematic synths ramp up the tension. Around the one-minute mark is where the glitchy darksynth beats break down the door. Catchy, different, and unique from most other darksynth producers within the same line of work. 

A trickle of electronic and gut punching like sound effects introduce us to ‘In The Taste Of Blood (feat.  CONNÖR)’. This isn’t my favorite track on the album by far as I find it to be a bit more straightforward and not as surprising, but that doesn’t discount it from being well produced. What comes next is a song that swings opposite from most the rest as the opening synths have a very hopeful tinge. ‘Not Your Kind’ also features The Static Architect who I presume is on vox for this release and he does a fantastic job and has some handsome chords. He also experiments with his voice, belching from the bottom of his soul to whispering sweet-nasties to those listening. 

The next song is a dream come true as two Greek giants combine; those being Draven and the industrial-techno pioneer Teknovore. What we get is yet another completely unique track in of itself, featuring smoother beats, a rampant pace, and more of a techno vibe in comparison to Draven’s harder, grittier signature darksynth. It’s fluent and relentless and I love every minute of it. ‘Redrum 8’ takes its name from the infamous film The Shining but does run into the problem of not being one of Draven’s standout tracks. Again, well produced, but not the most unique in the world. Good for some background tunes in the gym but not the best for intense listening. 

We Are Magonia marks their first guest appearance on the album with “Through The Cerebral Cortex”. Darksynth beats akin to a car revving up before taking off start off the track and has plenty of room for vocal samples and breakdowns. But, again, a similar complaint: well produced, not entirely unique. We Are Magonia also makes their mark on the last track on the album ‘Blasphemy’. This gives a damning, unholy church vibe that makes it worth the listen from start to end. 

‘D3ATH’ provides some major bass drops and perhaps even a bit of EDM / dubstep influence later in the song as beats are mixed and blended into an extremely glitchy, messy, but altogether brilliant jumble. Well done and well executed; this is something that I was not expecting. 

Do I find this album to be as complete and fulfilling as ‘Abyssal Arcana’? The answer to that is, no, I don’t. But do I find it to be a thrilling experience nonetheless? The answer to that is yes. “Massacre Blood Club” is bigger and bolder in some ways, seeing collaborations with the likes of Teknovore and The Static Architect bringing Draven into unfamiliar territory, while his solitary experiments on the likes of ‘D3ATH’ find him doing things he’s never done before. Sure, a few songs such as ‘In The Taste of Blood’ and ‘Redrum 8’ don’t quite land in a completely unique or signature style, but they’re still well-produced and can be fun. Overall it’s another solid entry in Draven’s discography and I only see him improving moving forward.