Ritual Chamber "Obscurations(To Feast On The Seraphim)"

Whether you know him as Dario Derna or Numinas there is no denying the sole driving force behind Ritual Chamber is a talented chap.  I recently picked up the underground DM classic that is Infester's "To The Depths...In Degradation" I have been throwing weird handshapes and gurning like a constipated old man ever since.  Even after some 25 years of being involved in the metal underground in various bands (Funebrarum, Drawn & Quartered and of course Evoken), Derna has lost none of his ability to create terrifying, dark and looming beasts in the form of some of the finest DM you could ever hope to hear during the past two and a half decades.

Ritual Chamber's first full length release showcases Derna's multi-instrumentalist talents brilliantly. Following on nicely from "The Pits of Tentacled Screams" demo, Derna continues to exalt the death metal sound of the debut on the follow up with the added edge of having some true horror thrown into proceedings for good measure.  Whether it's the smothering tremolos that open "Grasp Of The Host" like spiders weaving you into a hellish web of your worst nightmares, or the organ atmospherics of "Beings Of Entropy" ringing in your head like the soundtrack to an 80's slasher flick, there are bits of "Obscurations.." that stay with you for long after the record has finished spinning.

The album opens with a collection of horrific and evil sounds of sneering growls and harsh stabs of unholy fury and closes with what can only be likened to flesh passing through a mincer and making a disconcerting (if not a little satisfying) wet noise in the process.  It is subtle as it is only at the start and end of the record that sound effects are employed, it is however very effective.

Most interestingly though, my overriding memory of the record is the variety of pace and solidity of the song structures as a whole.  Take "Void Indoctrination" with its sonics spilling over the place like Trey Azagthoth himself is masturbating all over the recording, yet at the same time although the riffs also resemble Morbid Angel at their peak there is a clarity borne out of the pace of playing that stands out really well.

Throughout the album, Derna's Incantation-esque vocals maraude the ears like a predatory animal. They are not as deep as John McEntee's trademark style though, they are more of a breathy whisper and although there are obvious smatterings of the doom death sound of the aforementioned DM masters there is much more going on across "Obscurations...." than your first listen would have you believe.

Closing track "As Dust And The Animal" is perhaps as close to Incantation worship as the record gets but it is worship done by an absolute master of the genre himself.  In other words, Incantation may possibly have much to learn from Derna.

The bass very prominent in the mix and thunks and plods along nicely throughout the whole record supporting the drudgerous, murky sound of the music perfectly.  It is almost like a hammer at times, thundering in the pillars of the songs to support them as whole structures.

As well as making a shit hot DM record we also might have my favourite album artwork of the year so far.  It is one of those covers where every time I look at it I notice something new and horrific that somehow my eyes missed the hundred other times I cast them over it.

4/5

The Links

Profound Lore Bandcamp

Profound Lore Records