Rites of the Black Mass

The bad: this album has 20 tracks in total, but only 10 are the normal death metal you expect to hear. The other half is composed of bad ambient tracks that don't do much for me, so the hell with those.

What this album has for praises to the Master and general Satan worship, it lacks for general songwriting abilities. The riffs can be classified into three cathegories: fast trem picking, slower open chords riffs and even SLOWER doom-ish passages. Despite having very slow riffs, this ain't Black Sabbath. The riffs aren't powerful, nor crushing, nor devastating. They are dark, yes, but they don't kick your ass mercilessly. It doesn't help that this album has one of the weakest guitar tones i ever heard. No high end, and the low end is blurry, ending up sounding like wind passing through a pipe.

The good: fortunately, this album has a competent lead guitar player that throws a cool solo every once in a while, without relying almost completely on whammy bar masturbation like most modern brutal death metal do. And there are some good sounding riffs every once in a while, but those won't come frequently. Highlights? "To thee we Confess" and "Prayer of Hell" are the better, but that really doesn't say much. Even if you like death metal, you must approach this with caution.