Review BLOODY HEELS ‘Rotten Romance’

The front cover of Bloody Heels’ newest release ‘Rotten Romance’ reminds a lot of bands like Lillian Axe and Dokken. Thus might not be a coincidence. Especially the early might belong to the favorite bands of the four Latvian hard rockers.

‘Rotten Romance’ is the third album of the quartet and the second one the guys release via Frontiers Music. In total eleven songs found a spot on the album and the first song, ‘Dream Killers’, indicates where the inspiration comes from. ‘80s melodic metal from the West Coast is what inspire Bloody Heels. ‘Dream Killers’ marks a heavy entry point to the album with some melodic passages being a well-utilized twist. The title track is next and is kept in a moderate pace before the soulful moments start with ‘The Velvet’.

What is reflected by the first three songs is that Bloody Heels stick very much to the sound of their idols without having the musical toolkit of their ‘80s heroes at hand. Songs like ‘Distant Memory’ and ‘Crow’s Lullaby’ don’t have enough substance to compete.

‘Rotten Romance’ tries to re-vitalize the ‘80’s melodic metal spirit and there are some songs that manage to accomplish the mission. In general, though the album can’t spark the flame of metal and will not go up to the big leagues.