“Dark Simulator” - BLOODWOOD
- polsty00
- Jun 18
- 2 min read
BLOODWOOD – DARK SIMULATOR
Release Date: June 13, 2025
Every now and then a debut album shows up, punches you in the emotionals, and softly strokes your hair while whispering, “It’s all gonna be okay… maybe.” Bloodwood’s Dark Simulator is that album - equal parts sonic sledgehammer and melancholic fever dream.
Hailing from Perth, these four moody bastards have crafted an 8 track journey that drips in dread, longing, and the kind of slow-burning catharsis that makes you question whether you’ve had too much coffee or not enough therapy. It opens heavy, like, doom post metal-here-comes-the-apocalypse heavy, but soon floats into ambient, melodic space, like Mogwai and Deftones had a cosmic jam while watching Blade Runner on mute.
Tracks like Empty Cities are textbook Bloodwood - starting all dreamy and atmospheric before exploding into chaotic riff storms and crashing drums that could wake the bloody dead. Then there’s Airburst, which lets in some delicate light, bringing in vibes that nod to Porcupine Tree and OK Computer-era Radiohead, before plunging us back into the abyss. It’s a rollercoaster, but not the fun kind, more the “I think I saw my soul leave my body on that last drop” kind.
Vocals move between the ethereal and the anthemic, the band’s chemistry is airtight, and the production from Marcus Davidson is pristine without polishing off the grit that gives Bloodwood their soul. And while the whole thing is soaked in existential dread, it never wallows. There’s a weird hope in it. Like yeah, the world’s probably cooked, but here’s a beautiful soundtrack to your slow-motion breakdown.
If Dark Simulator is Bloodwood’s opening statement, then consider the bar fucking raised. It’s emotional, atmospheric, occasionally terrifying, and consistently gripping, the kind of record that demands your attention.
Dark, dynamic, and devastating in all the right ways. You’ll feel something. Even if that something is “maybe I should sit down.”
It’s a fucking journey/10.
Grab a dark ale, a joint and fkn feel something.
BLOODWOOD New Rise Sessions 👇🏼
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