The old Mesopotamian gods were probably crazy, once believed to be sweeping the land with their influence, granting immortality and fortune, conquering the hearts of kings and leaders throughout the ancient world. Was it a doomed missionary act in the first place? Probably so as the world advanced to monotheism eventually, abandoning the old gods to their sarcophaguses of cosiness, laying rest and slumbered till the end of time. Fortunate form us Metalheads that there will be always someone that will set the tone to head back in time to the far reaches of history and legends to seek out those ancient gods, calling their names, acknowledging their power and authority through songs and chants, expecting nervously for an answer. Among the many, the Finnish extreme Metal death dealers DEATHCHAIN took upon themselves, for their sixth album, to scour primordial lore with names, which some were partially or fully forgotten, left covered by a pile of dust. But at least they had something to write about. "Ritual Death Metal", titled as part of the band's obsession with the term of "Death", via Svart Records, displays a darker DEATHCHAIN, somewhat even brutish than earlier.

After an intro named "Voice of Sharur", the hailing of a crushing weapon and a cry for the appearance of the god Ninurta, which didn't exactly prepare me for what was about to explode in my face in tantrum, DEATHCHAIN attacked with a bewildering ferocity. Unlike the earlier Death / Thrash expulsions of their earlier ventures, it seemed that over time this band made their efforts extremer with adaptations of Black and Doom Metal resulting in darker atmospheres, malevolent guitar displays consisting of early Black Metal fast paced melodic riffing and crushing Death Metal rhythm guitar slashing of both old school and modern nature, a few lead guitar arrangements signalled several peak moments and a slight mood change but often the rhythm held the reins, defiled drumming of both Black and Death Metal orientations creating an interesting diversity, and as expected a mixed kind of vocal blends, between the foiled blackish squirms, backing chants and low end guttural growls well performed and recorded. In general, "Ritual Death Metal" is a darkened gathering of ambitious eposes of epic proportions, not relatively techy, might not be as smoother, as it wasn't intended to be in the first place, but definitely proclaimed its mark. I believe that "Stele Ov The Vultures", leading the first charge with a swarm of chariots, proved to me that I wasn't listening to the DEATHCHAIN I once knew. This is a skilled demonstration of creativeness, great riffs, well produced vocals and interesting arrangements and orchestrations. "Seven Asakku Shadows", unlike the former, went a bit back to the Thrash augmentations, but only with a few examples, especially in the chorus. Nonetheless, this one seemed more exciting, deathly and ruthless, defining the band's current musical direction. "Like Worms Upon the Lands", featuring guest vocals of ENTOMBED's L-G Petrov, is a cross breed between Black, Doom and Death Metal, a bit MY DYING BRIDE and early PARADISE LOST of "Lost Paradise" a long with charring old school Death Metal molestations. There were times where I lost myself a bit, don't think lack of concentration but mainly losing ground with the song, but a pretty good song nonetheless. The murky "King Pazuzu" is another display of the old DEATHCHAIN's jaunts but with a distinct Black Metal imbedding. I liked the energies and constant pounding. I didn't sound like your average lore epic, but it spiced things up a bit.

All in all, "Ritual Death Metal" turned up to be a nice result out of this band's abilities to create something unordinary for their original style. I was impressed by the chosen themes and how the grimmer music made an impact upon them. However, there were occasions that were a bit boring, segments stretched with no apparent reason, or mainly losing the song's tracks trying to reach heights that didn't appear to fit the spirit of what deemed to be the initial idea. In a few, I think that DEATCHAIN's musical directive displays assortment, innovativeness followed by their experience and mutual interests along with the crushing straightforwardness that pumps fresh blood and energies to their music.