Rituals Of Death
Casket Robbery
CASKET ROBBERY were formed in 2010 and they are from Madison, Wisconsin. The brutal Death Metal outfit released three EPs and "Rituals Of Death" is their second full-length album. It was produced by Troy Powell at Unintended Studios, and mixed and mastered by Christian Donaldson (BEYOND CREATION, CRYPTOPSY, THE AGONIST). The album has a length of about 33 minutes, and it was released via French label Blood Blast Distribution, which have a lot of brutal Death Metal, Death Metal, and melodic Death Metal bands among their current roster.
The album starts with a brutal blast-beat hammering, powerful riffing and growls and screams around the medium end of the guttural range. "Worm Food" is mainly a mid-tempo song with a few changes towards faster pace. While the sound is dominated by the riffing and the vocals, there are occasional keyboards in the background to intensify the grim atmosphere of the track. There is a short, but contributing lead guitar solo near the end of the track. "Don't Forget The Eyes" starts with crushing riffs at a sluggish rhythm. Megan Orvold-Scheider has vocal support by Keith Wampler (THE CONVALESCENCE) and the brutality of both vocals are the leading element of the track, where the guest vocals include a lot of deep lying growls. "Death's Dance" starts at higher pace with the blast-beats, but is predominantly a mid-tempo track with a few changes in rhythm. While the vocals once more lead the track, the thunderous riffing and the crunching bass lines contribute likewise to the track. "Death's Dance" finishes with a short orchestral arrangement providing a grim atmosphere, although the end of the track sounds a bit unfinished.
"Post-Mortem" is a bone-chilling track with a lot of Deathcore vibes. The rhythm is stomping for the majority of the track, with exception of the break that is played at breakneck speed for the lead guitar solo. During the slow parts, the sound includes the lead guitars in the background contributing to the freezing atmosphere of the track. "Post-Mortem" is the official video release, and the YouTube link is given below. "Beautiful Death" starts with the lead guitars and transitions into a mid-tempo track. The lead guitar melodies are one of the focal points of the track, the other one is guest vocalist Mary Zimmer (HELION PRIME), who has a fine contribution to the track and her growls are the highlight of "Beautiful Death". "Bone Mother" starts with a short pre-lude and then transitions into the sluggish rhythm once again. The track is carried forward by the sharp riffing and the relentless double-bass drumming of Alex Simpson. "The Hidden The Hideous" is more focused on the brutality of the growls and it is more blast-beat driven compared to other tracks. The guitar riffing is less dominant than in "Bone Mother", but there is a lot of atmospheric sound in the background of the track. Both tracks contain a few electronic samples to enhance the sound.
"Old Ones" starts a bit faster compared to most tracks, but quickly transitions into a slower pace and a pounding rhythm. The song includes a lot of samples and effects, and focus is put on transporting a blood-freezing atmosphere. The tempo is getting slower and slower towards the end It is another track that sounds a bit unfinished. "Reanimate" starts with spoken words and then erupts into a pummeling driven by the blast-beats and the growls. The tempo and rhythm vary a lot, but it is safe to say that "Reanimate" is one of the fastest tracks on the album. There is again a lot of electronic features added and they contribute well to the sound of the track. The album finishes with a blast-beat assault and "Return To The Sky" is another one of the few fast songs on the album. Driven by the growls and the hammering drumming, CASKET ROBBERY go out with a bang and "Return To The Sky" is one of the best songs on the album.
"Rituals Of Death" is an album with light and shadows. The sound on the album is driven a lot by the brutality of the growling vocals and the drumming. Apart from that, there was a mixture of everything, but without a clear direction. The guitar work was solid in terms of the riffing, but surely there was more potential for the lead guitars. Added sound elements were interesting at times, but not always necessary. Overall, the songwriting will need some improvement in the future. The album was well produced. Fans of brutal Death Metal and Deathcore might like the album and it will be interesting to see how future albums of CASKET ROBBERY develop in the future.
7 / 10
Good
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
"Rituals Of Death" Track-listing:
1. Worm Food
2. Don't Forget The Eyes
3. Death's Dance
4. Post-Mortem
5. Beautiful Death
6. Bone Mother
7. The Hidden The Hideous
8. Old Ones
9. Reanimate
10. Return To The Sky
Casket Robbery Lineup:
Megan Orvold-Scheider - Vocals
Cory Scheider - Guitars
Jeremy Kohnmann Guitars
Alex Simpson - Drums
Bryan Bykowski Bass
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