Dark Ritual is a black metal band from London. Formed less than a year ago in September 2014, this group is already hitting hard with their first EP, Incubus. For those not in the know, Incubus is more than just an alternative band from the early 2000's that once knew how to rock hard. An Incubus is actually an entity that attacks you in your sleep, basically raping and soul-stealing. I would say that this title fits these four songs quite well.
The overall sound can be summarized as black metal with subtle symphonics. The latter provides more of a texture than anything else, filling out the compositions with a dark chapel element. Meanwhile, the guitar work leans towards the 2nd wave with plenty of oscillating tremolo, but there are also some ripping melodeath riffs and solos. When paired with the drumming approach of double bass to the max, Dark Ritual is very much interested in keeping things as heavy as possible.
Vocals have a harsh, throaty quality to the screams, with some creepy monotone cleans for good measure. This is definitely not compressed, radio-friendly metal. Incubus is not interested in making you comfortable. No, this is war. This is extreme metal boiled down to what the tag means to begin with: raw, hard-hitting sh#% that most people would have nothing to do with. Bah. Who needs them anyways?
Each track had something slightly different to offer. “Forgotten Souls” shares some similarities to the recently posted Gladius Sky. The riff driven meloblack paired with the choral atmospherics shares a similar energy and vibe. I definitely dug the tapping solo and punctuated, catchy lyrics. “Covenant” is consistently hard hitting and a good example of what the future may hold for the group. But my favorite would probably be the title track. “Incubus” is a more dramatic Borgir-like song with some truly wretched vocal overlays. The chugging bridge and droning choir synth are a match made in hell.
If I do have one major complaint about the work of Dark Ritual, it's that they drag things out a bit too long. As veteran listeners here know, I am far from shy about recommending albums with tracks 20-30 minutes long. But in order to pull that off, you really have to have a strong sense of progression and flow. The songs on Incubus just seem like their ferocious nature would make an even stronger impression if they were more concise and to the point. Turn four 6 minute tracks into eight 3 minute tracks and I think you'll have an LP ready to bite someone's face off. Let me know when it's ready. In the meantime, check out Incubus on bandcamp and buy it for just 2.99 GDP.