The Ancient Ritual of Death

Beast Of Revelation are a band from the Netherlands that stood out to me just from the recommendations under the doom/death tag. They’re composed of members primarily from other groups, including Incantation and Mortician, so there’s obviously some kind of classic appeal. But I’ll admit, I was let down after giving this a few listens. The band’s debut record The Ancient Ritual Of Death starts out solid enough but gradually sinks.

Not to say that everything is outright bad, as a strong riff foundation is laid down hard at the beginning, getting my hopes up. The problem is that it never really pushes itself any further for forty-three-minute run-time, and after a while becomes hollow. Even early on, “The Great Tribulation” gets too heavy-handed with the chugs sounding too monotonous, and the aimless shrieks here are very unnecessary. The less straightforward songs that are longer in length do that even more, which are less enjoyable. “The Days Of Vengeance” cakes these on the most, and it’s upsetting that this one sign of variance isn’t exactly pleasant.

The vocals, in general, work against the band, as they follow the same issues as the riffing. There’s little to no variance, and although doom/death isn’t something that’s really meant to have melody, there has to be some sort of life. Most of it is gurgly growls that can’t even be distinguished from one another, showing very brightly in “The Fallen Ones.” This is a longer tune that goes even further with the same uninspired chugging, and vocals that just ramble on without even a hint of threat.

Considering the lineup, I was shocked at how underwhelming The Ancient Ritual Of Death was. Though this isn’t criminal status, I can’t say that I find anything worthwhile save for a solid foundation. Even the “Beast VI” interlude did nothing out of place from anything else, so I can’t say I recommend it. But, doom/death seekers should at least quench their curiosity thirst, as everything is subjective. As for me, I’m going to stick to Solothus and Spectral Voice. At least the artwork is pretty cool?

Originally written for Indy Metal Vault