Bloodbound Features Unleash the Archers Singer

"The Nine Crusades" serves as the closing track on Bloodbound's eleventh studio album, "Field of Swords." The record is a concept album that continues the historical narrative from their previous Viking-themed release, moving into the Middle Ages after the year 1066. Interestingly, the song was originally written in 2018 by Bloodbound's Fredrik Bergh and Tomas Olsson with the intention of a collaboration with the popular Swedish band Sabaton. Though Sabaton's Joakim Brodén expressed initial interest, the collaboration never came to fruition, leading Bloodbound to record it for their own album. The track itself is a summation of the historical Crusades, which took place between 1096 and 1291 and resulted in an estimated two million deaths. Bloodbound keyboardist Fredrik Bergh has stated he is "super proud" of the song and feels it's one of the best he has ever been involved in writing. Brittney Slayes noted she has been a fan of Bloodbound for over a decade and was honored by the feature. She mentioned the song's style is quite different from her work with Unleash the Archers, and she was excited by the challenge of putting her own spin on it. Slayes' own band, Unleash the Archers, also released a new concept album, "Phantoma," on May 10, 2024. That album explores a dystopian future, telling the story of an AI protagonist gaining sentience. A common thread between the two bands is their record label, Napalm Records, which released both Bloodbound's "Field of Swords" and Unleash the Archers' "Phantoma". Bloodbound is scheduled to support their new album live, with a tour supporting Angus McSix set to begin on March 12 in Hamburg, Germany.