"Rites of Ra" is the second studio EP from the Swedish thrash/speed metal trio known as VENTHIAX. The band formed in 2021 in the aftermath of the year of a plague and maybe some of that upheaval and discord soaked up into their psyches.  "Rites of Ra" is furious and aggro as hell, a testimony to the band's "goal of becoming the loudest and most ruthless metal band in the region of Huskvarna / Jönköping."

Existing fans of VENTHIAX may recognize some of the songs on this album as the band trialed several of them on their 2025 live album, "The Omens Arrival." As a further side note and curiosity, the actual song "The Omens Arrival" does not appear on the live album of the same name but rather on "Rites of Ra."

"Rites of Ra" weighs in at six tracks for 20:06 of runtime. It hits with all the mayhem of Lucifer on crack, wasting no time with ambient intros or outros or interludes or anything that might detract from their onslaught.

The first track, aptly titled "Warfare," doesn't even have vocals—just shredding riffs, a galloping bass line, and unrelenting blast beats. The second track is actually the title track. On this track it dawned on me that Emil the drummer is also Emil the vocalist—always a rare treat to have a drummer vocalist! His style is harsh and rasping, nothing clean about them. I honestly don't know how he can have a raw energy to abuse the kit and sing at the same time.

Track three, "Infernal Demise," is about the violence of Nero, which is oddly similar to the state of the world affairs at the moment. The track opens with a creative drum intro that is two parts creativity and one part aggression. Track four, "Speed Metal Mayhem" also has a drum intro but goes on to test the land speed velocity of the newest member, guitarist Viggo Heinonen.

You can't have thrash without some sort of socio-political commentary and with the final tracks "Dawn of Terror" and "The Omen's Arrival," that's what we get. The good thing is it's too loud and angry to really decipher the lyrics, so you never get the feeling you're being lectured at. "The Omen's Arrival" concludes with a fade which allows us to catch a second wind before releasing us back into our own realities. 

Altogether, this second studio release from VENTHIAX is a befitting welcome to the Dying Victims label. "Rites of Ra" is as brutal as it is fast, reminiscent of the 80's though as relevant to our day and age as ever.