The Black Dahlia Murder - Ritual

(In my best Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson voice) Finally!! The Black Dahlia Murder!! has come back...to your stereo!! Yes Waiveriders, The Black Dahlia Murder is back! Detroit's resident death metal superstars bring you their new album Ritual. I've been waiting to get my hands on this album for months and now it is finally in my possession. Excited, yes I am!! Ritual is the 5th studio album from The Black Dahlia Murder and damn it is epic as fuck!

Before we get to the awesome music, let's touch on the awesome cover art. Back in the day, (when I purchased cd's every week) I would stumble into my local record store and buy metal albums based on how “cool” the album art was. If I was 16 again and saw Ritual on the shelf I would definitely be picking it based on cover alone. The amazingly talented Valnoir Mortsonge is the man behind the epic artwork. Some of you may recognize his work on passed Watain, Morbid Angel and Ulver albums. The cover to Ritual is made to look like a demonic book. Complete with Satan himself and your fair share of pentagrams and other demonic imagery. Awesome!

Now on to the music. “A Shrine to Madness” gets the death metal party started. “A Shrine to Madness” starts off very melodic. At the 53 second mark you are hit with the opening guitar lick and soon follows Trevor Strnad's unmistakable vocal structure, a combination of black, death and guttural vocals. Overall a great opening track.“A Shrine to Madness” flow seamlessly into “Moonlight Equilibrium”. “Moonlight Equilibrium has by far the most “classic” feel to it. It is very reminiscent of their early work but you can hear former Arsis axeman Ryan Knight's contributions clearly.

“Conspiring With the Damned” is by far my favorite track on Ritual. When Trevor screams, “CONSPIRING WITH THE DAMNED!!!”, it instantly sends chills down your spine. This song clocks in at just under 4 minutes. If you get a chance to listen to just a few tracks of this album, “Conspiring With the Damned” has to be one of them. This song has it all. Trevor's amazing vocal presence, Shannon Lucas' unrelenting drums, Ryan (Don't Call Me Bart ) Williams' signature bass style and Ryan Knight and Brian Eschbach's dueling guitars.

There is something about the 7th track on albums. The theory I have is it's always one of the best tracks on album. I don't know, listen to any of your favorite albums, I'm sure number 7 doesn't suck. “Den of the Picquerist” is no different. This song is awesome, it's almost punk like in how short it is. Clocking in under a mere 2 minutes. It has the urgency of a punk song with all the melodic death metal tendencies you would expect from the band.

The Black Dahlia Murder have been around for quite a few years now. It seems as though they are constantly one -upping themselves in terms of musicianship. They progressively get better and better with each album they put out. Always trying new things. Ritual is very much all of those things. Musically it's a great album, and there are lots of new things on the album. One, the much higher screams Trevor hits and Two, the addition of Ryan Knight. You really get the feeling they put there all into the album and it shows on all 12 tracks. If you are an old Dahlia fan or this is your first time hearing about them, you should definitely pick up Ritual.

This is an awesome year for metal! Ritual is one of the many great albums being produced this year. I'm personally looking forward to the new The Faceless album and The HAARP Machine. Get excited!
Oh and go check out this years Summer Slaughter Tour, a bunch of great bands will be on it. Including: The Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, Darkest Hour, Six Feet Under, Dying Fetus, As Blood Runs Black, Oceano, Power Glove, and Fleshgod Apocalypse...shit's gonna be sick!

--Cicatriz

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Cough - Ritual Abuse

Quick and dirty review: Infrasound.

You heard (read) me. Infrasound. That sums up Cough's second full-length, Ritual Abuse.

Please say more, Horn, you teasing bastard, you say? As you wish, master.

Infrasound is any sound below 20 Hz-- and is inaudible to humans. At high enough volumes, however, the body can detect the sounds the ears can't.

How does one know the body is detecting infrasound? Dig these symptoms:

awe, dread, anxiety, extreme sorrow, revulsion, fear...

...the phenomenon often credited with "creating" residual hauntings is also the aftereffect of Ritual Abuse, especially at jet engine volume-- as it's meant to be heard. It's not a coincidence that Cough's listening experience is similar to being left alone in the bowels of a haunted asylum in the small hours.

Cough are at the far left (hand path) of the metronome AND the tuner: played slow, tuned low. Some track slither by, slowing, slowing... with so much space between each count of the drummer's right hand... they're almost rubato, without time... the fifth chords ring like distant knell of a haunted church-- unpredictable and inevitable.

Come (tune) down with us, Orpheus, let ol' Kharon carry you across, through the caves of Ritual Abuse, this slab of audible damnation--

I played Cough's previous, Sigilum Luciferi, like it emitted opium per revolution. I dig Cough, I dig their Blues for the Evil. Don't forget that's what heavy metal is: detuned blues for the suburbs, in high gain, with long hair....

Appropriate to the devil blues/ blackened doom, tracks are reviewed in backwards order.

Closer, "Ritual Abuse": sludge-crusted, sludge spraying opening riff... a radioactive riff for the day Cough are radioactive with sales....

Next: "Crooked Spine"... despair of the suicides in the acoustic intro: Neil Young in rehab for a habit he knows will kill him. An almost-acoustic piece that Alice in Chains would've written if they were truly depressed. "Who will save you now? Who will cast you out?" -- it's anguish blues for demons. Goddamned (pun intended) cool.

Next, "Crippled Wizard," the boss tritone riff connoting exactly the Fallen despair you'd expect... it's a blast.... Go on, Clyde... get in that shit....

"A Year in Suffering": the riff spiraling downward, a descent into the maelstrom in sound form, with groooove....

The overall repetition in the tunes, a psychotic delta bluesman fixated on the Riff, who must sound, like a Dervish, the deal he made with Satan...! Dig the expansion of the sound and vibe of Sigilum Luciferi, which I still herald as The Album Composed of (Sabbath's Vol. 4's) Cornucopia Riffs, aka Sludge Nirvana...!

Vocals: over-reverbed, like how they shriek during waterboarding in the Underworld... vocals that alternate between semi-sung and blared-- like the Belial or Moloch within the singer periodically gets control of his vocal chords--

Ritual Abuse is the best of Sludge Metal: a detuned corroded blues, obsessed with the flatted fifth and the satanic despair it spells when sounded. A despair for the 21st century. A despair... incurable.

A despair Goddamned enjoyable.


--Horn

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