Apoch's Metal Review - Temple of Baal / Ritualization: The Visions of Fading Mankind CD Review

Discography	Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed.
Temple of Baal
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)

Discography	Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed.
Ritualization
Full-Length(s):	The Abduction Mass (2011)
Split(s):	The Visions of Fading Mankind (2012)
Demo(s):	Rehearsal Tape 2007 (2007) • The Abduction Mass (2009)

Review

Temple of Baal are no strangers to putting together compilation releases through underground labels. Up to this point, the group has released four since 2001 with some very notable acts of the Black Metal field, such as Sargeist. In fact, the number of these releases greatly outweighs the number of recorded full-lengths over the years. Ritualization hop on board this time around for their first split recording (fifth for Temple of Baal), each offering a handful of tracks. All of this leads to a little over thirty-five minutes of pure Black/Death Metal material. But, the question is whether this time is used well, or if the songs are just cannon fodder from one or both ends.

The audio quality between the two acts does differ quite a bit, which shouldn't come as much of a shock to fans of these type of releases. While Temple of Baal has a rich and more digital production of a higher quality, Ritualization went with more of a raw sound. The first four songs of this release are simply crushing in the audio quality, focusing greatly on the bass that comes through perfectly, dominating the mix with its bludgeoning tones that really capture the Death Metal influence and atmosphere of the band amid the chaotic and blasting guitar work that also holds more of a blunt edge with it. The vocals add nicely to this with a slightly higher growl that comes through pretty clear with lyrics you can understand, backed up by a higher rasp at times, both of which performed with a great deal of energy while the drums pound away with thunderous bass kicks, as well as the cymbals and somewhat deeper sounding snares that are loud enough to be heard to fill the music nicely without drowning anything out or taking the attention away from the already punishing atmosphere created by all this, all coming through with a thick audio presence that just makes it all sound bleak and hopeless.

This is the sound given to the listener for the first four tracks. "Ordeals of the Void" is a little different when it comes to speed though. The song starts off with a slower introductory passage that doesn't last long before hammering into the crushing, faster paced material. The vocals match the energetic performance behind the instruments that just pound away at the listener. There are moments here that the band allows you to breathe, and they do appear on other tracks like the equally punishing "When Mankind Falls" where the music slows down more than the track's tempo already is, though in that following track it sounds more like an attempted slam breakdown to accommodate the mixture of styles that works only due to the already present crushing atmosphere. For this song, however, it allows a spoken word audio sample to play, which gives way to an impressive guitar solo, all building up tension very well from shortly after the slower passage started. The use of an audio sample also occurs during "Heresy Forever Enthroned," which involves a priest declaring the reason a man is being persecuted is through his knowledge of a lineage towards Satan.

One of the better elements of Temple of Baal's contributions is the amount of variety. While "Ordeals of the Void" is a fast paced and brutal assault on the listener, that is not all they are limited to here. As mentioned, "When Mankind Falls" takes on a much slower pace, and that does appear again on "Heresy Forever Enthroned," catering to the crawling Death Metal approach while throwing in some additional Black Metal elements for good measure. But, "Slaves to the Beast" is the most interesting. Much of the track feels like an early Black Metal song with some Death Metal chords thrown in, holding more of that ritualistic sound that many consider the true Black Metal sound, but it eventually bridges into a much faster pace, as well as a modern approach with additional blasting drums with chords that would be better suited to a current Black Metal razor's edge distortion. Sadly, the latter half of the song is not quite as impressive as the first, losing some of the impact due to that shift in style, but it still ends up being a good listen.

But, compared to the thick and crushing tone of the first four songs, Ritualization doesn't necessarily offer up a good deal of musical variety, or that rich an audio sound. It's clear the band has a stronger Death Metal focus at times, which is fine, but given the volume of the vocals, it can be a problem. The raw sound features some solid distortion on the guitars that give it a bit of a higher, noisier sound that works well to keep the music from sounding more on the empty side. The bass is present, but far from what Temple of Baal offer. You can pick up on it, but the instrument doesn't really pose much of an impact to the music outside a traditional backing of the main chords. Sometimes you can pick up on the vibrations from it in the background with the music allows the very deep and low-leveled instrument a moment to come through, and it sounds good when it does, making you wish it was more prominent in the mix. The drums are the best part of this though. The cymbals crash loud and clear with a nice mid-range click to the bass kicks that adds to the bass role of the release, and the snares sound thick, but natural, allowing a slight echo to come off the kit that feeds into that raw vibe, helping to establish a hopeless atmosphere. The big problem here, however, lies in the guttural vocal level, as you can barely pick up on them due to how drowned out they are thanks to the volume levels of everything else.

Other than that, the three tracks from Ritualization sound pretty good, though don't really make the best impression on the listener simply by what the group includes. You get two original compositions for this release, as well as a cover song to wrap things up. "Ave Dominus" makes for a strong assault on the listener that doesn't really stray too far from the general template of Blackened Death Metal. There are some slower moments in the song that try to push the atmosphere, and these elements do the job well considering what tone is already there. You don't really feel much energy in the performance though, but you still can't walk away saying it sounds robotic or lackluster. The transitions between faster moments and bridges that are slightly less are executed well, and there's plenty of material that changes tempo throughout to keep the listener happy while still holding that consistent intensity from the start of the track. Much of this could also be said for "The Second Crowning," except for the fact that there seems to be more of a Black Metal focus here. Both these songs end up being well done, though don't really offer much in variety between them outside a style focal point. The set rings out with the Mortem cover song "The Devil Speaks in Tongues," which is a well done cover of this Black Metal original, though far from diverse when compared to the other two offerings, though the vocals seem to be lost more in the distance here than any other song.

If you're looking for some solid Black/Death Metal material that doesn't always fall into the stereotypes of today, then honestly this split release is well worth looking into. Temple of Baal really takes the opportunity to put their best foot forward, and they accomplish this task well, putting out some of the best material you'll find in their discography as of late. However, Ritualization do a good job, but it feels like a bit of a wasted effort since their contributions are only two originals you can only really call tight performances of good material, and a cover song that sounds about the same. This set also makes for the more traditional concept of mixing Black Metal and Death Metal together, coming off a lot less impressive than you would hope the band would sound. However, The Visions of Fading Mankind does end up giving listeners thirty-five minutes of material that won't disappoint, which is a lot more than some splits you'll probably pay the same price for and just get one half-assed song from each band that simply isn't worth what you paid for.

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

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