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I was quite excited when I heard that Ritual were releasing a new album, 13 years after Soldiers Under Satan's Command. After some issues (see the two interviews), one single band emerged and here we have The Resurrection. Knowing Ian Fleming was heading the effort, I knew this would have more in common with the first two albums than with Soldiers...

I've had this album for a few months now and still can't quite get into it. It's true that it's nothing like the Black/Thrash of Soldiers, and to some extent it borrows from the second-wave style of the first two albums, but it's overall a very tame album. I'm tempted to call this "doomy Black Metal", though that's not fully accurate. This is a slow to mid-paced (mostly slow), moody album with a very strong melancholic vibe and the feeling during and after is one of depression more than anything else (though I wouldn't call this DSBM either.)

The vocals are somewhat decipherable rasps that I'm not too fond of – they were better on the first two albums. Here they remind me of a voice used for telling scary stories – slow and somewhat suspenseful at times – with a raspy style. Overall they're a bit too monotonous throughout. The music itself is very melodic and surprisingly catchy at times, which is what pretty much saves this (a lot of albums have that slow doomy vibe but leave nothing for the listener once the album is over.)

The Resurrection is not flashy in any way and won't win any awards for originality (in fairness, that can be said of most albums), but it does have its moments where the music – the guitars especially – is so tense and melancholic that it feels like it's reaching down and ripping your soul apart. Not essential, but interesting enough to at least check it out.