Blood is my least favorite OSI album, but only by a hair. I think it's very good album, but it really loses its momentum after "Radiologue." The long pause before "Be The Hero" brings the album to a screetching halt and "Mircoburst Alert" and "Stockholm" with Mikael Akerfeldt are two weaker tracks.
Okay, Stockholm is probably the weakest track on Blood, that's fair. And although I love Be The Hero, the slow start is kind of irritating.
But Microburst Alert--what the hell? That song is rockin'! It's got this weird groove and everything, and then all of a sudden ("STOP! STOP! STOP!") it shifts into high gear and proceeds to kick all kinds of ass. I can understand not loving the song to death, but I was surprised to hear it described as one of the two weakest tracks on the album. What about it don't you like?
I know you're a KevMo fanboy, but that doesn't mean anything written by Matheos is subpar.
Actually one of the main reasons why I like Be The Hero so much is the beginning. It's completely unconventional, as the first 20 seconds or something probably make you predict something like Terminal or We Come Undone, and then it changes entirely. I love surprises in music, and this is certainly a good one. The "main part" of the song is great due to the amazing catchy chorus, very "rocking" feeling and also the vocals - Kevin Moore's "cold" singing really has an effect here.
Stockholm is great due to the combination of melancholy in the beginning, and then the rising tension. The part with "eyes fixed on the gun", especially the second one with the heavier riff in it, always gives me chills. Mikael Akerfeldt's singing is also pretty different than usual, and gives the song a really nice, unique feel. It was also a song that needed time to grow - at first I knew it was just "the song with Akerfeldt", but didn't pay much attention to the rest, and over time I noticed also the great instrumental work.
Blood is a pretty complex and unconventional album as a whole, and that's why I really like it. I like it more than Free, but it's definitely a very good one. I still need to get the OSI debut, especially that many people claim it the best or just a bit below Blood.