Ritual – The Resurrection

After a twelve year wait US black metalers Ritual has returned with a new impressive album in The Resurrection, a release that despite a long hiatus shows the band has moved with the times and changes within the genre to bring something that though not necessarily innovative is fresh and more absorbing than the majority of black metal offerings this year. Though not flawless and from early reviews elsewhere fostering a mixed reaction, The Resurrection for us is an impressive and thoroughly engaging album that offers a less intense but more incisive and warm melodic flow of sounds. To some it might seem lightweight but without the venom and spite that most genre releases still feel obliged to carry and its clear openness allowing guitars and bass to express with a defined clarity the release is a vibrant and intriguing pleasure.

Formed in 1993 Ritual was one of the prominent and more influential purveyors of early US black metal, their three albums The Summoning (1995), Demonic Winter Metal (1997), and Soldiers Under Satan’s Command (1998), all making a distinct mark in the ears and upcoming band’s creative thinking, though it is fair to say without making a ripple in the immense wave of European black metal.  Then the band split and the years passed until Ian Fleming resurrected the band as a one man project, writing songs that would become The Resurrection.

Released via Funeral Rain Records, it is easy to see why some find the album underwhelming as it has very little malevolence, bitter nastiness and evil intent that is expected with black metal. The melodies and creative play is warm against cold themes within the songs and at no point even in the great closing instrumental of ‘March Of The Damned’ with its almost celebratory parade of the aftermath of life and lost souls, does the album step beyond the melancholic into total despair or hopelessness. Personally this brings a fresh and engaging element that is pleasing and a welcome change at not having to fight various aspects of a song and its creativity to find its heart and soul.

Just as it ends the album starts with an instrumental in ‘A Funeral For My Heart’, a piece that is poetically emotive from touching expressive guitars that with a slow dawning open up the senses to its well written passage. As it emerges throughout the album on most songs, nothing is complicated or overdone, its simplistic creativeness allowing the emotion to flow easily. This opens the way for the title track with similarly flowing guitars leading in the rasping caustic vocals. The malice within the album primarily comes from Fleming’s delivery and intent allowing the music to bring the light and uplifting elements that win out on all tracks. This is not to say The Resurrection is an ‘indie’ version of black metal but it is wonderfully accessible and more eager to share then to consume and violate like most equivalent albums.

Each track offers something different with a varied creativity and delivery. ‘Executioner Of The Elder Gods’ is an excellent excited stomp with scything guitars and rampant basslines and the best track on the release, closely followed by the chest beating declarations of ‘This Means War’, its anthemic shouting and powerful energy the hardest and unleashing the most anger to burst forth from within The Resurrection. The threatening ‘Nightmare’ and ‘Temples Of Baphomet’s Sons’ also whittle away at the senses with some display of vehemence especially vocally but again musically and especially from the bouncy basslines there is always that rope of hope and safety to cling to.

As mentioned earlier the album is not without a few ‘negatives’ as in the vocals of Fleming lacking real diversity across the release and though he is strong enough it leaves the music the task to ensure ones focus. Also there were moments calling out for more progressive guitars sounds and intricacies to send some surprising tingles through the ear. Saying that though The Resurrection is a great album and one of the most pleasing and appetising black metal releases this year with its turn towards the light rather than joining the rest in the black shadows and should be given full attention.

RingMaster 14/12/2011

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The Black Dahlia Murder – Ritual

The 2009 release of Deflorate from Detroit’s The Black Dahlia Murder, laid waste to the opposition at the time and set a bench mark for all melodic death metal bands to try and emulate. It also set a definite marker for the quintet’s follow-up to match up against as it set up the unavoidable prospect of comparisons to its high quality for its follow-up release. Released via Metal Blade Records, the new album Ritual has not only matched up but in many ways has taken things further and again set new levels for others to look at in awe.

From the opening haunting orchestral quiet that leads ‘A Shrine To Madness’ into a focused sense of organised chaotic intensity, a direct purposeful energy permeates throughout Ritual. Vocalist Trevor Strnad states that the album is “the most focused Black Dahlia Murder strike of all time.” and it is impossible to disagree. He also added with regards to the content of the album that “every song that got brought forth was exciting and more three-dimensional, more twists and turns, more surprises. There’s more ups and downs and taking people on a journey this time.“

Whereas the opening track is strong without setting fires alight its successor ‘Moonlight Equilibrium’ declares the validity of his words. The song snarls like a rabid wolf, biting hard and refusing to let go as it pulls the flesh away, the vocals of Strnad screech and growl as they seek the deepest corner in the listener all the while supported strongly by the darker vocal tones of Brian Eschbach. The guitars of Eschbach and newest member Ryan Knight create their own world of glorious sound, their ingenuity and inspired play a joy that shines through the onslaught. The addition of Knight seems to have given the band’s music a boost in some way, whereas before it was still all about intensity coated in creative and satisfying melodies now there is a new kick to it, a fresh vibrancy that flows without losing any of their senses squeezing power. In reference to his fellow guitarist, Eschbach said “The last two albums I wrote most of the music, and this one it’s almost a 50-50 effort between me and (Knight). He lifted what we were doing on the last album so much from what we’ve done before, his different techniques and stylings that he knows how to wield. It’s really exciting for us to have that be part of the band now.” Strnad also added that Knight “is an educated musician, and he’s brought that kind of aspect into the band, too. We came to him having higher expectations, and he’s exceeded all of those.”  

Throughout Ritual the tracks stir up the senses, the creative ideas and their realisation is at times welcomingly surprising but always awarding. Tracks like the imposing ‘Carbonized In Cruciform’ with crushing drums from Shannon Lucas, the swift attack of the brilliantly disturbing ‘Den Of The Picquerist’ complete with wailing woman, and ‘Malenchantments Of The Necrosphere’ where the bass of Ryan Williams brings a deep resonating tone, show a band at its full height though one sense there is plenty more to come from the band ahead. If there is one niggle about the album it is that the bass of Williams is often lost in the colossal sound and only intent searching within a song reveals the talent the man has.

There is not one moment on Ritual that does not keep up the highly impressive standard but the track that really shines above all is the closing ‘Blood In The Ink’. Fusing classical elements into their black metal artillery the result is an immense and wonderfully gratifying piece of music. There is a sparkling beauty that holds its own against the power and is maybe an indication of the emergence of a new detour in their sound, one that hopefully they will explore more in future releases.

The Black Dahlia Murder have always set the trend and heights to which other bands aspire to, with Ritual they have concreted that standing and moved the bar up yet again.

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Pete RingMaster 06/07/2011

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