1. IN RENATUM/THE REBIRTH
2. Against All Odds
3. Heaven is Hell
4. 20/20
5. Daydreaming
6. Through the Smokescreen
7. One More Foot in the Mortuary
8. Rewriting Extinction
9. Betrayal (Hang Me Upside Down)
10. At the Dawn of Our Last Day

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Blood of Wecz have gone through a number of changes in their style over the years, moving from the heaviest of death metal towards the sound most akin to the new wave of American heavy metal, and then a more listener-friendly stadium rock sound. However, as their 15th album In Renatum begins, it is clear that the band has returned to something that has long been their signature. The title track of the album, serving as a short intro to their newest record is as punchy and unpredictable as it is heavy and hard-hitting. This is more than just an introduction, it is a signal of intent, a clear indicator of what is to come, and all delivered with the cheeky little swagger that made Blood of Wecz what they have been in the metal industry for so long - legends and icons.

The song starts with a loud whooshing noise, which is quickly replaced by the sound of clapping hands, applauding along in a quick steady beat, which is quickly picked up by the thumping bass drum and bass guitar. After a few seconds, the bass plays a little flourish, and as an electric guitar strums that first and long awaited chord of the comeback album, Scott Rose-Hilton's spine tingling guttural growl comes out of nowhere, ripping through the air and stamping his authority on the song. The first short verse is screamed over the top of the opening beat, before Scott screams "Let's go!" at the top of his voice, creating visions of a million mosh pits opening up ready for action, ready to perfectly complement the brutality to come on the music.

The first verse is replaced by a heavy breakdown, thundering and massive in sound, and when Scott's voice comes back in, he sounds as venomous and violent in his vocals as he ever has, clearly having recaptured the desire and intensity that made him the vocalist he was. The next two verses are sung over the top of the thunderous breakdown, as the second guitar plays along with the occasional flourish. From there, the short introduction to the song starts to come as it seems to build towards a crescendo. Just as it reaches the height of the heaviness, there's a shift.

The track then changes pace when the drums hit a quick fill and the instruments (except bass and drums) cut out. This takes the music back to the start of the track, where Scott's vocals are raw and heavy with anger. He sings through the next verse, and he sings the last line, when he gets to "take your best shot", the sound of a gun being cocked can be heard, with the thumping of the drums the symbolising the gunshot. This brings about the final breakdown in the track, over which Scott screams the final two lines, roaring out the final note and holding it over the sound of a ringing guitar note that heralds the gateway to the main body of the album.

Mark Talley says: "First song on the album, last song written and recorded. I think that is pretty obvious as well. By the time we got to this stage, we were pretty pumped about the whole thing, and that's why this song sounds like it does. I think the sound is just so....ready for a fight, you know, so confident and angry, like someone is before they punch someone else. That all came from the adrenaline we had in the studio at the time. You can also really hear our swagger throughout it. We felt so confident by this stage in the process that you can hear how much of our personality we poured into this. It sounds so heavy and arrogant, but I think arrogant in a good way. It has a real kick to it, and that was something we were definitely going for in the sound. As a re-introduction to us, I think this is the best we could have done. It's like a signal of intent, and I think we needed that to win over our old fans and show them we mean business. As an intro to this album, it's perfect in my opinion. It's heavy enough to leave people thinking "holy shit...." but it just teases them enough to come in a little deeper for their metal fix. And we'l deliver that throughout the record. Talley promise."

Scott Rose-Hilton says: "For me, this was a song that was gonna be very important to the final product we have here. It's only a little short song and an intro, but it had to be right. If you're gonna go with an album name that means rebirth, then you better show people how you're reborn right from the off. This song, for me, was either gonna be all about remorse or aggression and it had to be the latter when I thought about it. So yeah, I wrote about how I fucked up in the past very briefly, and then went right in with the whole "Hey I'm back! You know, we're back!" This is a song that is way more important than people might see, but I hope people appreciate it. It's about the rebirth of this band as well, and even if I seem confident, I'm under no illusion - we have a lot to prove with having been away so long. Like Mark said, this is our sign of intent and our marker for the rest of the album. We're in an unenviable position where we have to grab the attention right from the off, so going all out like this was the only way. We didn't do things by halves here. We just laid it all out there. This is what you can expect from the rest of the album, this IS the rebirth of Blood of Wecz. It's as heavy and violent as we have ever been - it's angry - it's loud and it's bloody. I gotta say, I kinda love it."

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Lyrics

(clappy intro)

Tell me all you know about the new dawn
Meet me at the break of day
This time, I know I'll get it right
The past should be, no more than history

(breakdown)

My time, is set to shine, about to start afresh
I will stand upright for the world to see
You'll see
That I was just a martyr for no one's game
Another victim of a blind hypocrisy
And in a second I rolled the dice and killed my name
Tore any trace from the books of history

Told you that I would give all that I own
To live my life again, to start over
Did you know, what you would be facing alone
Another nomad, a wild rover

In a time that shows no mercy
A world that's filled with all I've lost
I'm not afraid to be all I once was not
.....So take your best shot!

(breakdown)

Now heed this word, I'm here to start a story fresh
So meet me at the break of day....Let's gooooooo!

1. IN RENATUM/THE REBIRTH
2 Disconnection
3. Against All Odds
4. Heaven is Hell
5. 20/20
6. Daydreaming
7. Through the Smokescreen
8. One More Foot in the Mortuary
9. Rewriting Extinction
10. Betrayal (Hang Me Upside Down)
11. At the Dawn of Our Last Day

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Following the ruthless and relentless aggression evident throughout the first three tracks of the album, Blood of Wecz show the first signs of progression on In Renatum with the track Against All Odds. The track sounds well-rounded, mature and far more grown up than anything seen on previous albums, and marks the first time on the new record that Blood of Wecz have shown a softer side, with an epic and majestic introduction that sounds as massive as it does epic. This doesn't mean that the track is anything less than metal at its very heaviest though, as the intro soon gives way to massive riffs, blasting drum beats and heavy vocals that are almost more Blood of Wecz than Blood of Wecz have ever been. If previous long-term fans of the band were in any way sceptical of the direction the record had taken in the first two tracks, then this is the one that marks the difference, the song that shows them this is the same band they have loved for 15 years.

The track begins with quite a calming sound, very different to the song that has just ended. From the momentary silence comes three clean, high pitched notes, strong yet echoing as if played from a mountain top. These lone notes sound massive and atmospheric and the riff is repeated a couple of times. Soon after the first play, the guitar is joined by a large group vocal singing "woah oh oh" over and over, distant yet still managing to sound strong and loud. This continues for a few moments as the vocals appear to come closer and closer, before the guitar and group voices are joined by a continued and steady bass drum thumping over and over in time with the slow intro, and the second guitar playing heavy chords in the same slow fashion. This goes on for a few more seconds before the song hits the second intro.

The next part is welcomed in by Scott's screamed vocal "OH!" which changes the very nature of the track, and marks the first tempo change. This section sees the first guitar section played a little faster and with a bit more groove, while the second guitar plays a much quicker and more progressive riff, and the drums become more "animated", moving away from the simple marching beat and closer towards the typical metal beat we might expect to hear from Blood of Wecz. This part still sounds far removed from what we might expect from Blood of Wecz, but that quickly changes when Scott screams again, shouting "yeah".

What happens next is far more Blood of Wecz, with the breakneck tempo returning an almost hardcore sound. The riffs are fast and powerful, distorted and aggressive, while the drums employ the double kick nature that has become a trademark. The vocals come in at this point, and the way they keep up with the very fast pace of the music makes Scott's voice sound like something of a violent bark as opposed to a measured growl, giving it an all-new dimension and direction. The verses keep up the sort of relentless sound that is in evidence throughout, while the choruses are a little different. The end of each verse slows down quickly in the last line, allowing the band to bring in the second intro guitar riff again, which plays over the top of the choruses as Scott barks out the much shorter lines and the more violent calls to action throughout this section.

The only change from this formula comes after the second chorus (at the "No turning back" part), where one guitar turns to a more groove-led metal riff, with the chords at a slightly slower and more measured pace than throughout the verses. The lead guitar plays an intricate riff in the background at the same time, a little faded and more distant. During this part, the vocals slow to the sort of growl we expect from the band. This also marks perhaps one of the most exciting parts of the whole album though. As the section comes to an end, Scott screams "GO!" and the pace changes once more, heading into a death metal riff, the pace of which is almost terrifying, projecting images of circle pits and carnage at live concerts. At the end of the track, the final line is repeated over as the song slows to a close. The guitars and drums start to return to the original intro, and the group vocals return alongside Scott growling out the last line, before it gradually fades to silence.

Mark Talley says: "Ok...so I called Disconnection my favourite song on the album, but this one is not all that far behind. It's probably one of the songs that we wrote without any sort of consternation or rewriting. It just poured out of me and it was like, "yeah, this is right." I love the contrast between that sort of atmospheric and slow intro and then the pure aggression and speed throughout the rest of the track - it really works well in my mind. The intro is undoubtedly one of the things I hope stamps its trademark on this album. We've always just launched into songs in the past and hit listeners in the....ummm...ear with the sort of aggression and power that we made our own, but with this one..I personally wanted to do something different. I think we've earned the ability to become more adventurous like that, and we're definitely mature enough to do that. When I hear this intro, even now, it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It just sounds so big.....so epic and cool. I really do love it. Every time I hear it I think ahead to the tour, and I just envision hitting those first three slow notes and hearing the crowd chant back the group vocals at us. It's gonna be epic in my mind. Overall, I think the song speaks musically about what we are and who we are now. It has that real thumping trademark of Blood of Wecz with big chorus, chanting vocals and heavy heavy riffs, but it shows how we've grown and become more musically learned in the past few years."

Scott Rose-Hilton says: "This is quite a cool track that I like because it sort of lets the pressure off a little bit (laughs). What I mean is that the first two tracks were all full of like a personal message either about the band or to my ex family members. This is more like a call to action - it's a message to the masses saying, you know, never give up, never let anyone tell you that the odds are too high, and that you can never succeed in life. It's a track about fighting for what you believe in and just never giving up no matter how hopeless a situation seems. It's about overcoming the odds, and it's about being a winner. We are one of those bands who like to give messages to our fans. We always had a special connection with our fanbase, and at one point you know we even described them as being like cult members because of the sort of relationship we had, so we like to talk to them like this. It's something we've always done - so you might say, intro aside, this is the first time on this album that we have gone full out as "true" Blood of Wecz. For some people, I think the notion of the song might seem a bit cliché (laughs), but in my mind it's not at all. It's more about the fight and the success, whereas you'll hear most people singing about the desire to fight and trying to believe you're not useless. Like I say, though, this is real, deep Blood of Wecz. This is for everyone who has followed us for the past decade and a half. My hand goes out to y'all, and my heart."

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Lyrics

Oh oh oh Wooooah oh oh
Oh oh oh Wooooah oh oh
Oh oh oh Wooooah oh oh

OH!

We forged our beliefs in the fires of your last dream
Watched as you burned for everything you dared believe
We fight our corner, in the hope of finding what you sought
Now we stand, against a common enemy
We are the knights who chose to stand our ground
The gems that vowed to never be found

Take back your name
Take back the future
Fight for your claim
Again we battle the odds

We are the only ones
The last of our kind standing
We are that pain that brings you to your knees
A dream always demanding

And we'll fight to the end for our cause

No turning back!

No turning back!
We will cherish the names of our fathers
And in the end we will fall beside them

No turning back!
We will cherish the names of our fathers
And in the end we will have our revenge

Go!

From the fires of your final dreams
To the day you burned for your beliefs
Fighting our corner, here we stand
Against our mortal enemy
We are the knights (we are the knights)
Who stood for what we knew was true
The gems that could never be dug up
The only ones who still believe in you!

Born to fight until the sun sets on our generation
Sworn to never see the dusk of our time
Vowed to hit back in our prime

And now we fight these odds

And now we fight these odds

And now we fight these odds!