ALBUM REVIEW: The Rite – The Brocken Fires

Time to review a Blackened Doom Metal band who are comparative to classics such as Goatlord, Death SS, Samael, Mercyful Fate and Celtic Frost. This is the brand new mini-album from THE RITE, out on August 2nd via Iron Bonehead Productions.

Opening with stormy sampling of winds and rain, the classic atmospheric feel of the album certainly hits before the music, complete with chiming bells and eerie speech. Thundering in with roaring guitar and bass over pounding 80s drum fills, the snarling vocals gorgeously tie the mix of thrashing grooves together. While there is a kick of powerfully chugging guitars and ripping drums, the doomy ambience of the meandering grooves is also very noticeably there which really adds to the headbanging pace of the album from early on. While the rasping rawness of the record is present, there is a gorgeously tranquil sense of melody that balances things, conjuring up a catatonic, trance-like state with the bellowing blasting assaults that follow to break you back into reality with no compromise, just unfaltering extremity with War Metal vibes clearly among the bands influences. I cannot complain when offered such a convulsive groovy slab of Black Metal that has all the archaically stunning features of Doom Metal while retaining its primitive and violating monstrosity and attitude. The release is closed by a monolithic cover of none other than GOATLORD, one of the most influential Blackened Doom Metal pioneers, incidentally also one of my favourite bands of their period. This mini-album had a really complete feel to it with the nuances of synths and sampling among a catastrophically brilliant mixture of classic Black Metal packed with exciting hooks, marvellous grooves and pummelling onslaughts that truly flow with such lucidity and prowess that you feel hypnotised. An unrelenting yet well-paced record that despite being shorter than a full length has a completely well thought-out structure, fantastic delivery and spectacular musicianship with some of the most haunting vocals you will hear on a release this year. -8.5/10