I remember a time when the future of hard rock as a genre looked pretty bleak, there wasn’t a lot of exciting music coming out or the fully developed means by which you could find new bands. Thankfully, That is no longer the case, The current state of the genre is truly exciting and there are TONS of great bands putting out high quality rock n roll.
The issue now is how does a band stand out in all of that? It certainly goes a long way if you have a sound that is uniquely all your own and Latvian hard rock kings Bloody Heels do exactly that. On a musical level they don’t really sound like anyone else and singer Vicky White has, in my opinion, one of the most unique and powerful voices of the modern hard rock movement. Their previous album 2020’s Ignite The Sky was my favorite album of that year, an album that was energetic, intricate, full of attitude, haunting, and filled with great melodies.
Rotten Romance is very much an evolution of the sound they’ve achieved over the years, But I’d say it leans more into heavy metal than their last two albums did and there’s a darker atmosphere to this album, both musically and lyrically. The song writing on this album really takes their music to the next level, the composition of the songs are intricate and the music is really given the space to convey the emotion of the songs.
“Dream Killers” begins with a fade in riff that sounds both 80’s and modern before going straight up metal, heavy riffs lead to a melodic chorus. It’s not hard to see why “Rotten Romance ” was picked as the album’s title, this song is everything that is great about this band, Great riffs and melodies dominate this song, Vicky’s vocal range really shines here. “The Velvet” starts out with some synths before breaking into some great riffs and atmospheric keyboard melodies that lead into a haunting chorus which says “take me there where the cold wind blows, So I can feel something that’s not pain” this is for me the best song on the album, it’s lyrical topics and incredible melodies will be stuck in your head for long after you’ve played the album.
“Distant Memory” straddles the line between hard rock and heavy metal with melodic and pummelling riffs, also beautifully constructed vocal lines at the chorus. “Hour Of Sinners ” starts out with a whispered vocal line that sounds very like Peter Steele from Type O Negative, their influence lingers over this song but filtered through the hard rocking groove of this incredible band, the guitar solo on this song is awesome!
By contrast “Mirror, Mirror” starts out with a very 80’s style riff but this song is a great example of the fusion of that era and a very modern approach. “When The Rain And I Meet” is a borderline power ballad, an absolutely stunning song. The musical atmosphere on this album is both emotionally heavy and beautiful, this isn’t an album you listen to, this is an album you experience, one you feel and that is the mark of great music. The tones on this album are to die for, absolutely stunning sound coming from every instrument. Perfect mixing here as well. “Crows Lullaby” is a fantastic and heavy song with incredible vocals and a monster guitar solo.
“Burning Bridges” is a driving song with some spectacular mid tempo sections and another great guitar solo.
As we draw towards the end of the album “Angels Crying” starts out with a great bass riff before kicking off with rocking riffs and more haunting vocal melodies.
“Oblivion” starts out with a great synth melody before soft guitars kick in, the keys play a dominant role in this song, it’s a gorgeous end of the album which on a musical level I’d regard as the most forward thinking song on the album. This is epic song writing.
I had high expectations for this album ever since I heard their last one and I’m very happy to say it exceeded my highest hopes, Rotten Romance is everything that makes this band not only great but one of the best and most unique of the modern hard rock renaissance, everyone who loves the genre should be listening to Bloody Heels, they’re that good. Granted, they don’t sound like your stereotypical hard rock band and because of that they help move the genre forward.
9/10