BLiTZ is an artist who seems to exist in some Orwellian version of the future. He’s a mysterious beast with an opaque backstory, but one thing’s for certain; with the aid of his band, he’s been sending us a futuristic sound, coded messages wrapped in a unique amalgamation of industrial, electronica and molten-hot modern metal. The muddy nature of BliTZ’s true personalities has the added benefit of bringing their music to the fore, and when the songs are as good as the ten found on Bitter Me, that’s exactly where it should be.
Appearing in a style that befits their name, there’s no time wasted on fancy preambles or elongated introductions, just an ominous tolling bell and then BLiTZ arrive with a wrecking ball swing. Like a heavyweight boxer, BLiTZ are at once heavy and lithe, fleet of foot and pugnacious of punch, they throw their considerable weight around, swinging from speaker to speaker with an air of menace. It’s a combination that soon puts the listener on the ropes, and BLiTZ keep them pinned there over the course of forty furious minutes. ‘Blitzkrieg’ is the name of the opening shot, and could quite easily become a theme tune for the band, not only is it a bold way to make an entrance, it’d make a great way to kick off a concert and is sure to cause mayhem wherever it is unleashed. “Left, Right, Left” forms part of the chorus, and BLiTZ do march into view like an invading army, wheeling out the heavy artillery and firing shells that explode and reverberate throughout the album.
With no two songs inhabiting the same sonic space, Bitter Me is an album in constant motion and even when BLiTZ kick down a few gears on ‘My Enemy’ there’s no discernable decrease in power. That’s partly due to the production, and is similar to what Bob Rock did with Metallica’s Black Album. Subsequently, Bitter Me sounds absolutely massive, and listening through headphones is recommended to fully appreciate its magnitude; it is quite easy to lose yourself in the soundscapes the band create. The type of musical fusion in which BLiTZ dabble is fraught with risk; get the mix wrong and a band can find themselves in a musical no-man’s-land, and with no appreciable crowd to play to. It’s a quandary BLiTZ solve quite novelly: whilst many bands blend genres to create their sound, BLiTZ take things to a whole new level an are the musical equivalent of an android, they absorb industrial metal, NDH and electronica so that these genres become part of their DNA and genetic make up. It’s not just the music that’s fluid, but the vocals too, and they range from operatic sweeps to guttural growls, it’s an approach that turns tracks such as ‘The Game’ into real stompers, and with this album on your playlist you’ll be able to smash through any obstacles life might throw in your path. As such, Bitter Me is a release that finds words and music combining to plant strong images in your mind’s eye, with tracks such as ‘Sudden Death’ being a nocturnal pillion ride through a dystopian Blade Runner cityscape as neon blues and pinks flash by and strange cyborg creatures lurk in darkened alleyways.
Just like the sleeve in which it is housed, there’s a dark aesthetic hanging over this album, and whilst Bitter Me is not a concept album per se, the tracks are linked thematically and that means it flows from track to track effortlessly. As much as I like albums such as Tommy and The Wall, there are moments on those records that seem totally superfluous, it’s as if certain tracks and segues have been included for no other reason than to move the story forwards. It can result in a disjointed experience, whereby some judicial pruning would have created a far smoother listen. It’s a problem BLiTZ have circumnavigated by keeping a tight focus on the story, whilst keeping it loose enough so the listener can infer their own meaning.
Bitter Me is a warning from the future, and BLiTZ are here to save us.
- Bitter Me is released via Fastball Music on 12th June 2026 (available here).
Track List:
- Blitzkrieg
- The Score
- Sudden Death
- My Enemy
- The Game
- Bitter Me
- Vermilion Vein
- The Foresaken
- Carnival
- Take Me Alive
