Formed from the initial demise of Winterwolf in 2001, Deathchain contains members from all manner of Finnish bands, including the mighty Demilich. ‘Ritual Death Metal’ is the band’s sixth effort, and is apparently the first contemporary death metal to be released on Svart Records’ selective roster. Fittingly, the promotion makes great play of the band’s intensity, uniqueness by encompassing many forms of extreme metal, and even their deadly serious quest to raise ancient gods of evil. According to guitarist, Corpse: ‘Thematically we have moved closer to the source, and all laughter around it has died… On this album we concentrate on the Mesopotamian pandemonium as we examine the different manifestations of the Adversary’.
In correspondence to this, the band makes a distinctly dark first impression. With that stylised, highly effective cover art still in mind, the rather cold and creepy piano introduction ‘Voice of Sharur’ fits the blackened visual perfectly. Instead of run-of-the-mill piano, Deathchain creates an atmosphere which sounds more like something from an early horror film, with warped notes ominously branching out of each other. This brief foray leads into ‘Stele ov the Vultures’ which sets the tone with its thick, impenetrable sound courtesy of Necromorbus Studios. Musically, this is granite hard and operates at a purposeful pace aside from odd bursts of speed and that whacky explosion of solo at the beginning. As the opening track title’s ‘ov’ hints, aspects of latter Behemoth appear, albeit in a slower, more typically black/death metal form. The playing is precise; a mix of molten guitars and relentless drum work – especially in the bass drum department. Even though the following track initially blasts out, it too settles into a brooding feel, with far more of a groove and hellish atmosphere than the Poles conjure on record.
For anyone unfamiliar with Deathchain, it would be wrong to assume – as my weak comparisons so far imply – that they resemble Nergal & co in any big way, because they really don’t. There is a common ritualistic feel to the music and it is all very sophisticated, but that’s where it ends. Deathchain spread the weight of their tracks out over vast playing times, as you might expect from their emphasis on brooding songwriting. Each composition is given time to establish and impose itself on the listener’s consciousness rather than simply clatter by. The likes of ‘Our Lady Under the Earth’ and ‘Like Worms Upon the Land’ incorporate a few additional effects to exude extra devilry. In the former, some feminine vocal strains; in the latter, a simultaneously soothing/disconcerting intro with organ, and guest appearance from LG Petrov(!). In both cases, there are crushing parts but the lingering nature of assault does at times lose me. Inevitably it is about the ‘feel’ created by this conjuration but of all the tracks, a blaster (‘King Pazuzu’) and a contrastingly diverse one (‘Tiamat’s Eyes of Death’) stand out.
‘Tiamat’s…’ particularly resonates, as melodic threads weave through, riffs abound and speed flourishes to cement the track as ‘album highlight’. The closer, ‘Abzu Doom’ kind of embodies the record for me; foreboding, dark, and containing parts which convey an awesomely abominable atmosphere. But it fails to blow me away entirely by being overly long and occasionally dull. As a whole, Deathchain’s new effort is neither as musically nor conceptually unique as the press release would have us believe. I can well imagine how some will embrace ‘Ritual Death Metal’, but for me, it just doesn’t quite hit the mark. It’s good but not great.
(7/10 Jamie Wilson)
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