Apoch's Metal Review - Temple of Baal: Lightslaying Rituals CD Review

Discography	Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed.
Full-Length(s):	Servants of the Beast (2003) • Traitors to Mankind (2005) • Lightslaying Rituals (2011)
Split(s):	Unholy Chants of Darkness / Faces of the Void (2001) • Sargeist / Temple of Baal (2004) • Ancestral Fog / Temple of Baal (2006) Temple of Baal / Aosoth (2007) • The Visions of Fading Mankind (2012)
Demo(s):	Satanas Lux Solis (1999) • Black Unholy Presence (2000) • Rituals of Black Plague (2003)

Review

With a few split CDs and two full-length releases under their belt, Temple Of Baal unleash their third record, Lightslaying Rituals, onto the masses of those who crave something other than constant blast beats or experimentation in their Black Metal. Instead, the band presents you with a sound that bands like Venom would be proud of, a very hard-hitting early to mid generation Black Metal sound. This very unsuspected treat will grip you and demand your attention toward their pounding riffs and drums, even if the lyrics are sometimes cheesy and the drumming sounds off.

Take "Piercing The Veils Of Slumber" for example. This pulse-pounding track is insane, but the opening drums sound a bit off compared to the heavily distorted guitars used throughout the release, as if the drummer cannot quite keep up with their speed, or like the drum track was just not properly laid into the music, being just a split second off, throwing that part out of tempo. The track "Triumph Of Heretic Fire" is spectacular and really where the band shows their potential on this release, but it seems to suffer the same problem with the drums like it did on the previous track, but nowhere near as bad since it only seems to happen once that the guitars don't seem to match up with the snares of the drum kit. Aside these blunders, the rest of the album flows smoothly.

The guitars on this are pretty heavily distorted, which sounds great for the music except during the start of "Piercing The Veils Of Slumber" which it all just sounds too much, but again, only for that intro, which will lead you to conclude that everything wrong with that track was probably due to some production error during recording. Other than that, the songs vary on early first wave-sounding Black Metal with a hint of Thrash, as well as some of the traditional second wave as far as the guitar riffs go. The shorter songs on this release are perhaps the most stand out, really showcasing the talent the band has, really hitting you with how heavy the band can make the music, such as "Hate Is My Name," even though the lyrics are a bit weak, and "Vectors To The Void". However, the longer tracks "Black Sun Of The Damned" and "Dead Cult" are usually on the slower side and sound great, but have moments that seem as if the band was just trying to extend them and ultimately can feel as if they just drag on.

While the first two tracks have their issues, the rest of the album will really stick in your head and greatly varies between speed and tenacity, but only two will really leave a lasting impression. While the material on here is great and not easily forgettable, the songs "Angstgeist" and "Poisoned Words" are all around perfection and will be the real driving force for many repeat listens. Lightslaying Rituals is an excellent entry into the Black Metal market from Temple Of Baal, and has something for every fan of this style that just gets better after your first spin through.

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	Physical review copy of this release provided by: Agonia Records.

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