TEMPLE OF BAAL/RITUALIZATION
Having been lurking in the underground since 1999, Temple of Baal have a number of releases under their belt with three acclaimed full-lengths and four splits with other extreme metal bands from the French underground. Drawing a dose of death metal into their black metal expulsions, Temple of Baal’s style is as diverse as it is intelligent and they utilise the full scope of their capacity as musicians and as a collective to create some dense, dark, and highly developed material. The barrage begins with ‘Ordeals of the Void’, a bulldozer of a track spiked with intense riffs, blitzkrieg drumming, and acidic vocals, with the furious and melodic lead work delivered in a quick burst of focussed fire. ‘When Mankind Falls’ has all the ire of the opening track, slowing to a death metal atmospheric dirge for the latter half of this crushing track. ‘Slaves to the Beast’ is a fast and frenzied attack delivered in just under three minutes, a full-on battery distinctly different to the following nine-minute epic, ‘Heresy Forever Enthroned’. This last track is astounding, a slow-burning slab of blasphemy that shifts through an array of contours and textures, each as dense and intense as the last.
Ritualization’s tracks, though they belie the band’s relative youth compared to Temple of Baal, are faster and thrashier. ‘Ave Dominus’ explodes from the speakers and is a flurry of fury, as is ‘The Second Coming’. The cover version of Mortem’s ‘The Devil Speaks in Tongues’ is a well-executed tribute to South American extreme metal. What Ritualization deliver is a speedball of ravaging and rampant riffs, savagely delivered at hurtling tempos with Warchangel’s repulsive death grunts biting through the bilious mass. When these guys get to releasing a full-length, it promises to be something appalling and worth looking out for.
Of the two, Temple of Baal’s tracks stand out as the most accomplished but that’s no doubt because they are a more established band. But Ritualization should in no way be overlooked and this split should give them the exposure that they deserve. That’s not to imply that Ritualization are in any way inferior, far from it. With two demos behind them, these guys are a mighty force and their knack for crafting churning blackened death is undeniable. Two great bands, seven very impressive tracks, what more could you want?
Ritualization’s tracks, though they belie the band’s relative youth compared to Temple of Baal, are faster and thrashier. ‘Ave Dominus’ explodes from the speakers and is a flurry of fury, as is ‘The Second Coming’. The cover version of Mortem’s ‘The Devil Speaks in Tongues’ is a well-executed tribute to South American extreme metal. What Ritualization deliver is a speedball of ravaging and rampant riffs, savagely delivered at hurtling tempos with Warchangel’s repulsive death grunts biting through the bilious mass. When these guys get to releasing a full-length, it promises to be something appalling and worth looking out for.
Of the two, Temple of Baal’s tracks stand out as the most accomplished but that’s no doubt because they are a more established band. But Ritualization should in no way be overlooked and this split should give them the exposure that they deserve. That’s not to imply that Ritualization are in any way inferior, far from it. With two demos behind them, these guys are a mighty force and their knack for crafting churning blackened death is undeniable. Two great bands, seven very impressive tracks, what more could you want?
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Agonia Records
Split Album
THE VISION OF FADING MANKIND
Review by Jason Guest
RUNNING TIME:
35:22
RELEASE DATE:
29th Nov 2011
TRACK LISTING
1) Ordeals of the Void
2) When Mankind Falls
3) Slaves to the Beast
4) Heresy Forever Enthroned
5) Ave Dominus
6) The Second Crowning
7) The Devil Speaks in Tongues
2) When Mankind Falls
3) Slaves to the Beast
4) Heresy Forever Enthroned
5) Ave Dominus
6) The Second Crowning
7) The Devil Speaks in Tongues
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
France
"Two great bands, seven very impressive tracks, what more could you want?"
