RITUAL DEATH is here. This Norwegian black/death act was born from self-devouring fires and a catacomb in 2016. With a fistful of splits, a handful of EPs and one compilation under their metal belt, now the band have unleashed their self-titled full-length album "Ritual Death," released on the 5th of December 2022 via "Shadow Records"

RITUAL DEATH was born in a Graveyard, where the music made from obscurities and horrors seen and unseen, terror, blasphemy, heresy, dread, darkness and ancient worship, forged in the very depths of the catacombs of Nidrosia. Music that's a true cult and underground entity, and all provided by arcane savagery of experienced members who have a daunting list of credits in other musical projects -where one member features the guitarist BEHEXEN's, taking the rains as the lead guitarist and vocals -yes, Wraath is behind the helm. -so, if you, the listener a fan of BEHEXEN music and true Norwegian black metal -you, the listener, are in for a brutal treat!

The first track on the discussion is the opening track, "Ancient Devil Worship", which welcomes the listener's ears with a strange soundscape intro of enticing the listener's soul -followed suit with evoking fast droning and hypnotic riffage, pulsing bass riffs and primitive drum strikes/beats and blackened raspy and growling vocals -all cloaked in an occult and ritualist ambience (keys) soundscape. The next song for discussion is the seventh track, "Darkness of Death," -where this piece showcases the raw aggression and brutalisation of what the band can pull off within their music.

"Ritual Death" combines the same brutality as BLASPHEMY, the primitive, savage hell-obsessed of -early BEHERIT, the abrasive and decaying and occult imagery of -early MAYHEM and a hint of the blackest and rawest of BEHEXEN -thus creating this raw/primitive underground extreme act that displays a grim, abrasive, and relentlessly bleak, ominous and ritualistic atmosphere style of black and death metal that remains stubbornly in the old ways. At the same time, "Ritual Death" is a well-executed release, both in the production and instrumental/vocal work - simultaneously, the production work has a polished and very professional sound to it, which is not a bad thing ... while the instrumental/vocal artistry (utilising various tempos, moods and atmosphere...), which strikes terror in the listener's ears of droning and hypnotic riffs, pulsing bass riffs, primitive drum strikes/beats with adding fills here and there, occult/ritualist ambient keys/soundscape, spoken audio clips, and vocals are an in-between of the shrieking vocals of black metal and guttural-growls of death metal.

"Ritual Death", in my opinion ... soon as that coffin lid is lifted -that pure stench of this decaying and savage pits of hell atmosphere hits those speakers and the listener's ears -those ears know this is going be a raw, brutal and old-school extreme metal delight from the moment of pressing that play button-a full-length that should be blasted out loud, and volume pass the full-max mark... fans for BLASPHEMY, BEHERIT, MAYHEM & BEHEXEN...<