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Review: Ritual of Rebirth - Ethical Disillusion
Ritual of Rebirth
www.ritualofrebirth.com
Ethical Disillusion

Label: Nadir Rock
Year released: 2008
Duration: 49:54
Tracks: 12
Genre: Melodic Death Metal

Rating:
2.25/5


Review online: August 22, 2009
Reviewed by: Tony Augsburg
Readers' Rating
How do you rate this release?

Rated 2.6/5 (52%) (5 Votes)
Review

Oh geez where to start? So many things are wrong with this album. Ritual of Rebirth have basically made an album rehashed from many mainstream and Industrial Metal sounding acts. One band that keeps coming to mind while listening to Ethical Disillusion is Mnemic. There is controversy surrounding Mnemic as to whether or not they are a metal band or not, I consider them to be and obviously many don't. Let's see, Ritual of Rebirth basically take Mnemic's overall sound yet manage to make it sound nowhere near as good.

Mnemic, along with Fear Factory who has a similar sound and is an obvious influence to them, was one of the bands that helped me gain interest in metal. What Ritual of Rebirth does that is similar without the any of the same intensity is make an industrial sound and try to throw in many random notes or riffs just to make it sound "cool." They are essentially trying to play random music without doing so. Adding in a nice little solo here and there will not change the fact that the vocals are atrocious and nearly everything else has been done before and better. Also may I dare say it, but this album seems to take a fair amount of influence from Nu-Metal. Melodic Death Metal is being awful generous as this could be seen as an industrial horror show that would be better heard in a trash compactor.

NOW WAIT! That was just for the first half of the album. Literally the first 6 of the 12 songs on here. The prior is still the same, it still sounds like Mnemic. But this second half of the album is actually Melodic Death Metal, except the last track that sounds like Seether. Decent I must say, but nothing special. These last tracks must have been a different recording session as the quality is ridiculously better. Not only have the vocals gotten magically better, the lesser amount of random parts actually does seem to fit and sound good. This half definitely has a thrashy edge to it and song structures which almost gave me a heart attack. The solos also became better. My feelings have definitely lightened on the band, as I know they can be outright awesome.

Well the pitch looked like a fast ball but turned out to be a slider because of such a change in direction. I really am puzzled as to where it came from and why the tracks were in such order, but I was pleased when I got there as I could not bear much more. Even with the vast improvement over much of the second half Ethical Disillusion really isn't that good of an album. If tracks 7-11 were put on an EP by themselves it would be pretty good. If Ritual of Rebirth continues to record music I hope they go that direction instead of the other.

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