The Resurrection
(Funeral Rain Records)
39:29min
It’s been a bit up and down with RITUAL. The Californian band delivered a good debut full length back in 1995, if you haven’t checked out "The Summoning" yet, get to it! Though the music haven’t always been that interesting and focused since then, and the same can be said about the line-up, there have been a change or two and a return or more, so who is in the band today I’m not totally sure of, besides Ian Flemming who might be handling it all. "The Resurrection" is the return of RITUAL after more or less 12 years of silence, so it is going to be exciting to see if this is a single shot or we are out for a full ranged assault, because the music on this album is quite good. A continuation of RITUAL’s dark and sinister Black Metal with a very grey edge, a good drawback to the melancholic atmosphere that cloaked "The Summoning" in darkness, with the musical quality that can carry it and offers the listener some good hours of entertainment. Bleak melodies drive the music forward together with some good base riffs and a devilish scream. There are intensity and blackness all around, though I miss some more variety, some more intriguing rhythm patterns and just a tad new or a hellish element that leaves me drooling behind. There are many good things scattered around on the album, though that last wee thing to make it really good and worthwhile is missing. And after a few listens it becomes a bit stale. RITUAL is back with some of the good things from the past mixed with a bit thrashyness and traditional Heavy Metal. The knot just isn’t tied that tightly together, but the bits and pieces for a really strong fifth album is more or less present, some more effort with the songwriting so the music becomes more fluid and lasting will do good. More darkness at: www.myspace.com/ritualblackmetal, www.funeralrainrecords.com
Anders Peter Jørgensen