Hour of 13 formed back in 2006 in North Carolina, and since then has been making a name for themselves in the underground Metal scene at a rather rampant level. In 2007, the band issued their debut full-length recording through Shadow Kingdom Records, and later this, their second full-length offering The Ritualist through that same label in 2010. The band eventually signed with Earache Records, who is releasing this creation worldwide for 2011. Given the old-school Heavy Metal played with Doom Metal references and ideas, there's no label better suited for this band then Earache, but does the band have what it takes to step out of the underground shadows with this release?
The Ritualist shows that Hour of 13 definitely has the talent needed to create a dark, mystical, and eerie album. The band's ability to weave a vintage Heavy Metal approach with Doom Metal into such an atmospheric experience has always been one of the reasons the band's popularity in the underground worlds had grown so quickly. The Ritualist proves to be no exception to this, as each song sets up it's own unique atmosphere, but there's no denying that each one manages to set up the feeling that it's coming out of the speakers from the days of vinyl glory, before CDs and digital mediums, back when Ozzy was issuing new material with Black Sabbath and it was damn good and inspirational for it's time. Many tracks seem to take the occult-related lyrical themes and spin a musterical or proper occult-like atmosphere to them, such as the title track, "The Ritualist", a spellbinding track gives the sensation of being in a candlelit room watching ritualistic acts being performed. The rather mellow sound of the music retains enough of a classic Heavy Metal edge to it to keep it sounding heavy and strong, while catchy and approachable enough to just kick back, relax, close your eyes, and be caught up in the atmospheric conditions and lyrical imagery that Hour of 13 seems to effortlessly incorporate into the song, as well as many other tracks on this recording.
The Doom Metal influence is obvious throughout the entire release, and it's really where much of the atmosphere to the album stems from. Songs like "The Ritualist" and "Soldiers of Satan" really weave a dark, occult-like surrounding in the minds of the listener, though the latter has some rather disgusting lyrical imagery involved that feels a little out of place at times, but not all songs have this kind of dark setting to them. "Naked Star" actually manages to break the mold a bit, and brings in a much lighter, more of a somewhat glorious atmosphere and musical performance then anything else through a stronger old-school Heavy Metal performance. Shockingly, this is the only one that really goes that far with the Heavy Metal feel, but it's a nice break from the darker vibes of the recording.
There really isn't much that could be said negatively about this album. The only real complaint is that sometimes the songs can feel a little drawn out. For instance, the last two tracks "Evil Inside" and "The Crawlspace" are the two longest tracks on this recording. While they basically sound the same as the rest of the recording, they aren't really as strong, lacking a heavy atmosphere, the higher pitched clean singing sounds off at times, and just start to feel a little repetitive after a while. However, "The Crawlspace" does have a decent amount of atmosphere, and the vocals are more on tone with the rest of the music, but the music just feels rather bland and repetitive, just not all that great in the long run. The vocals on this recording in general need some time to be adjusted to, taking on a nasally clean singing approach that is reminiscent of early bands that are credited to the Stoner and Doom styles, such as early Black Sabbath. On many songs it works perfectly, but others will require a little patience to acquire a taste for it, which includes the first track, "The Gathering", which also acts as an odd track mostly because of how different it sounds compared to the rest of the material, especially with the atmosphere, almost like listening to an early Heavy Metal inspired Type O Negative track with higher, more nasal vocals.
the album does have a few curve balls to it, as outlined above, but for the most part The Ritualist makes for a solid release. The combination of old-school Heavy Metal and Doom Metal may not be the most original concept today, but Hour of 13 does a fantastic job of taking these two styles, and weaving a very dark, often mystical sounding release that is as soothing as it is rough and wonderous. The lower quality and tuning of guitars on here makes for a great raw feel, though the production is clearly more a modern digital one and not something one might expect from a remastered early NWOBHM vinyl back in the day. Either way, The Ritualist makes another great entry in the slowly growing Hour of 13 discography, and it proves why they have obtained so much attention from that same underground group of Metal fana.
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