{"id":124825,"date":"2024-12-05T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T15:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/?p=124825"},"modified":"2024-12-05T09:12:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T15:12:39","slug":"review-rituaal-elimination-extermination-eradication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/review-rituaal-elimination-extermination-eradication\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Rituaal – Elimination, Extermination, Eradication"},"content":{"rendered":"
Gimme an E!<\/p>\n
(This review was written by Falxifer)<\/p>\n
We seem to be living in a weird post-old school death metal revival period, from 2016 up to almost 2021 there was no shortage of death metal bands popping out of the ether with a thing for Morbid Angel and Finnish death metal, however, like all trends or fads it ultimately petered out, and a lot of the bands that led that charge changed directions or broke up. But, death metal is no stranger to a sudden burst of popularity which is followed by a return to the underground, which is ultimately a good thing since newer bands now have to get creative or at the very least, make active efforts to not sound like they\u2019re copying each other.<\/p>\n
Enter Rituaal! A new band out of Indiana, with their debut offering Elimination, Extermination, <\/em>Eradication<\/em>. An EP of brutal, grinding death metal, the band wastes no time. From beginning to end this is pure death metal, layered riffage, a pulsing bass, piercing leads, dry gutturals and incessant drumming. Rituaal pretty much ticks all the boxes for any death metal enthusiast, almost too well, if I\u2019m being honest. After such a long period of exposure to various modern takes of classic death metal, I can freely admit that being good or competent doesn\u2019t really move me, though to Rituaal\u2019s credit they do display a brutality that wasn\u2019t really heard in many of their contemporaries, or rather, the glut of bands signed to Maggot Stomp and 20 Buck Spin, etc.<\/p>\n The best aspect of this EP is definitely the production. Rituaal did an excellent job at recording their music in a way that\u2019s clean, audible and well balanced without sounding sterile, and retaining that seemingly elusive grit that most modern death metal and even the OSDM revivalists lacked.<\/p>\n Another strength of the band is their performances. for a debut EP, they sound extremely tight together, and there\u2019s still room for them to flex individually, mostly vocalist Erick Rodriguez (Acid Coffin<\/strong>), drummer Dustin Boltjes (ex-Skeletonwitch, ex-Demiricous<\/strong>) and the guitarists, Ben Parrish (ex-Demiricous<\/strong>) and Scott Wilson (ex-Demiricous<\/strong>). butthe biggest surprise was bassist Alexander Farrington (ex Cadaverous)<\/strong>. Despite not sounding as prominent in the mix as his other bandmates, Farrington still manages to make his presence known as the driving rumble behind the riffs and solos. All these guys are of course veterans, and their skills are noted, but again, their biggest strength is their chemistry and it\u2019s a treat to listen to in each track.<\/p>\n Rituaal may be a new band, but it has the seasoning of well-versed masters of their craft, even if the end result itself didn\u2019t move me as much as I would like, this is still very well made, expertly played death metal. It\u2019s actually a good thing these guys decided to debut with an EP, because it forces them to distill their songwriting to be the most impactful it can be, which can then be refined for an LP.<\/p>\n Rituaal’s Elimination, Extermination, Eradication<\/em> gets a<\/p>\n2.5 out of 5 Toilets Ov Hell<\/h2>\n