• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

"Destruction Ritual" succeeds to "Rise of the Imperial Hordes" by not steering too far away from Krieg’s proven formula - very fast, raw, angry, chaotic Black Metal that has earned the band its cult USBM status. Don’t expect some mellowed-down, symphonic stuff here: Apart from two short, slow "atmospheric" tracks, this album is played at full speed almost from beginning to end, not unlike Krieg’s previous material. Imperial’s vocals are as sick as ever, if not sicker. Those shrieks could wake up the dead. The recording at times gives the vocals a very faint resonating effect that result in a somewhat haunting feel to the vocals - very effective.

The production is alright for this type of music, better than "The Church"and more along the lines of "Rise...." I found myself liking this album more than both "The Church" and "Rise...", and I think the vocals have a lot to do with it - the match with the musical onslaught on the album is near perfect.

Little note on the booklet: The lyrics are not included, only credits and thanks are included. It’s also too bad that it doesn’t have cover art as awesome as the one on "Rise of the Imperial Hordes". I guess a picture was a bit cheaper to get. :)

Fans of cult USBM and of previous Krieg recordings will most certainly find something they like in here - assuming you’re not looking for a whole change of musical direction. Highly recommended.