Dublin-based Avante-garde Black metal band MOLEKH has entered the scene under Bent Window Records with their first full-length album "Ritus" since their demo back in 2018. The four-piece originates from Poland and Ireland with most of the band coming from previous, still active projects in Ireland's Black metal and Death metal roster. MOLEKH plays into themes of Satanism and Occultism across this LP which dropped this past March.

As expected of the Black metal subgenre, the first two tracks "Yetzer Hara" and "Cruor Innocentia" have unconventional song structures beneath the harsh, death growl-vocal styles of Donal Fullam, Sebastian Majka, and Dariusz Kubala with the tempo picking up in "Possessionem". My top recommendation to introduce anyone to MOLEKH is the title track "Ritus" because of the dynamic guitar sections, but "Abyssus" come in a close second. Towards the last two minutes of the track, you can really hear and pick apart each vocalist's lines, leading into a thrashing, faster outro before fading out. Overall, the fun of this album increases as you go further into the tracklist.

While others may recognize the various band names under the MOLEKH lineup, this full-length debut is a strong start for Dublin's latest Black metal team. Ireland's underground metal scene continues to house bands that are welcoming in experimental elements to stay true to their individual sounds, and MOLEKH has made it a point to allude to but not specifically call on any one particular band for inspiration. Because of each member's experience, they are able to produce a first album that creates an identity separate from the rest.