Annihilation Rituals

Annihilation Rituals is where it all started, before launching Doom Cult into the wastelands. This impressive compilation features all four releases before their debut record. We got Demo 1: 2005, their amazing Decimator EP, three songs from the split with Denouncement Pyre titled Chaos Rising which contains new versions of Annihilation Ritual and Doom Cult, and the Sect of Swords EP, featuring a new version of Infinite Destruction. This alone tells you the band wanted to rework some of their old material.

Demo 1: 2005 is very raw and chaotic, to some incomprehensible extent. Annihilation Ritual opens with a strident and strange sound that goes louder with some stomping in the background, before the chaos begins. As the music and the disgustingly raw shrieking kick in, it goes all over the place: blast beats and shredding guitars left to right, and the vocals going nuts. The riffs are terrifyingly intriguing with the help of even more blast beats as the song progresses. The outro slows the suspense with some doom-like phase and nice drum patterns, along with the shrieking. Although, periodically, they continued to use that outstanding drum pattern with some catchy riffs, Infinite Destruction continues the turmoil. This song also has a powerful guitar solo. Doom Cult would be the most chaotic song on that demo. It went apeshit with the blast beats, complemented by the raw production. Even with its enraging instruments (especially the bass) and scary shrieking, it sounded catchy. Hell, even that song sounds a little influenced by doom metal in the bridge, or sludge metal, if we go down further into those genres. It all ends in another chaotic outro.

Decimator starts with the EP’s prelude Nex. It’s got drums and guitars, though overwhelmed by the intense sound in the background. It’s just repetitive. Once Decimator starts, it’s got a strong bass intro with some extra electric noises in the background until the guitars slide in a doom-ish manner. The riffs are slow, heavy, and crushing. The drums add layers to the intro so well and the sound on the snare is fucking amazing; immediately buying me into this great song. As the vocals kick in, the song runs wild, with sheer blast beats and fast guitar riffs that end up emitting some great rhythm and melodies. As for the outro, you couldn’t ask for a better one. The song transitions to Order of the Iron Fist, after its loud noise with blast beats and sweep guitar riffage, which lashes at you with its scary shrieking. Compared to the title track, this one is more chaotic and audible. During the long bridge, you get some Sepultura-like slow clean vocals (yeah... I can’t express this any better). That’s where it gets more atmospheric. Once the bridge concludes, the vocalist releases a high scream (arguably the highlight of the song), ending with ferocious blast beats and even more riffs. Master/Enslaver has the angriest blast beats. The bass sounds menacing during the bridge and includes more variety with the guitar riffs. However, the music came out to be rather forgettable, rendering the weakest song on the EP. Although not available on this compilation and I don’t see why not, but on Decimator, the band covered Bolt Thrower‘s All That Remains. The third verse is a bit altered, but otherwise, this version is faster and replaces the death growls with low shrieking. And again, a chaotic outro. Just thought it’s worth the mention.

Diocletian‘s part in the Chaos Rising split starts with the foreshadowing song, which they would use the title for their third full-length. Already sounding like a proper successor to Decimator and kinda belongs to that EP, it’s got very consistent riffs. Unfortunately, the bridge already made it quite annoying to listen, and so are the choruses. The guitar solo was also horrendous. As for the new versions of Doom Cult and Annihilation Ritual, the demos sounded a thousand times better. Despite some tweaking and a clean mix, they don’t actually sound any different.

Sect of Swords begins with the new version of Infinite Destruction. Surprisingly, it sounds more chaotic than the demo version, yet not really different. I think it sounds as solid as the demo version in its own right, which in most cases goes to show that a song can be good no matter how different it may sound in other instances. Of course, can’t say the same for its two other counterparts’ revisions heard in Chaos Rising. The outrageous title track didn’t meet the expectation as the majority of the songs have. It sounds forgettable and repetitive. As for the cover of Blasphemy’s Weltering in Blood, the guitar work is exceptionally good with no words to describe the blast beats anymore. They’re there and they do a perfect job!

As you can tell, some songs are not as great as others, though it’s still worth the money into entering the band’s first material. The demo is so awesome I would get it in a heartbeat. But unfortunately, it’s only available on cassette. Considering the band likes and/or supports the old formats, I prefer CDs. The Decimator EP is also worth getting, but don’t get your hopes up for Master/Enslaver. Even the Sect of Swords EP wasn’t bad, but the title track was the worst song on it. The best tracks are all the songs on the demo, Decimator, and the cover of Blasphemy’s Weltering in Blood, and to rate each individual release:

Demo 1: 2005: 100%
Decimator: 80%
Chaos Rising (Diocletian’s split): 15%
Sect of Swords: 75%