Ravencult - Temples of Torment (2007)

Ravencult's Armageddon Rising EP was a fairly competent foray into the grim night spectrum long associated with the Norwegian black metal circle, but it wasn't exactly the sort of groundbreaking or viciously engaging record to grow excited for. With Temples of Torment, their first full-length effort, they've made an admirable stride forward in not only the execution of the material, but the writhing, violent, oppressive subtext so intrinsic to the genre, a mesh of Mayhem's deathly consistency and Bathory's glorious, charging abandon. Temples of Torment might not be unique; but it is, in fact, the best of Ravencult, an album which makes damned sure to smash your face repeatedly into its ghastly altar before sacrificing you upon it.

The production of the guitars here is huge: hefty, but possessive of a razor-like, cutting ability that holds up through the streaming, hostile chords or the higher pitched melodic knives that often tear off into the atmosphere. After the distorted, escalating chant that inaugurates "The Sigil of Baphomet", the band immediately strikes out to slay the audience with a blast beat. The guitars are admittedly pretty predictable here, but they still possess that primal motif that first brought so many under the genre's spell; and once the song breaks into the roving, Bathory like bridge riff, you've got no choice but to crush the nearest skull with whatever spiked apparel you are sporting. This technique is also used through the verse riffing in "Commence the Burning of Heavens", or "In Times of Demise". Seeking something more punk-fueled but equally violent? "Onslaught Command" is set to tear you up. Seeking something slower and more somber in its warlike breadth? "The Nighsky Codex".

Ravencult has the tones, and for the most part, they've got successful riffs. Just about the only element that lacks in their sound is any sense for subtlety. Temples of Torment is bloody and immediate, and if that's your style, then you'll be throwing orgasmic fits of appreciation with every blood-drawing cut. They don't usually go out for much variation, relying heavily on just one or two guitar sequences to carry a 3-4 minute song, but it proves enough for much of the debut. Though the band is Greek, and one of the better straight traditional black metal bands from that region, they lack the distinction of several of their local contemporaries. But to those in the mood for a howling blast of frozen, impenetrable evil, with lyrics that are actually worth reading for their hostile, blasphemous and inspirational imagery, they should more than suffice.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (three nails are not enough)

http://www.myspace.com/ravencultbm

Ravencult - Armageddon Rising EP (2004)

The seasons might shift, the years roll on into the endtimes, but the lion's share of black metal musicians have expressed little to no desire to change with them. Thus, I present to you Ravencult, another band of European loyalists to the precepts carved in flesh by the Scandinavian first and second waves (Bathory, Darkthrone, Burzum, Immortal, and Mayhem all come to mind). If one thing could be said for their Armageddon Rising EP, it would not be that any status quo were being challenged, or boundary being forced, but that the Greeks spend about 10 minutes giving it their all, with riffs that whore for evil majesty more so than a number of their myriad contemporaries.

The tracks here are stock black metal, indeed, but they are at least distinct from one another. "Dethrone the Son of God" (no relation to the Havohej album/track) is faster paced, its blood streaming guitars carrying a melodic texture that functions suitably alongside the blustering, tortured throat of the frontman, yet aside from that one central riff in the verses, there is next to nothing interesting happening whatsoever. Traditional for the genre, with decent production and a steady blast beat, striving for no more. "The Nightsky Codex" is slower, reminding me of the careen, crashing walls of discord that once dominated bands like Emperor, Satyricon, Enslaved and Immortal in their formative years, with perhaps a sliver of Viking-like pomp to the composition, but once again: you get this one, big riff which you can take or leave, and then nothing else of interest manifests throughout it's nearly 6 minutes of existence...

So, really, one must just do the personal math: do you want another straight black metal piece with average songwriting skill, black/white cover art, cool logo and no deviation from the norm? Then Ravencult is unlikely to disappoint. They get a good, clean tone going, without ever threatening an excess of polish. But if you've heard this a thousand times before, and trust me, most of us have, then I can't see much of a reason to recommend Armageddon Rising. The lyrics, titles, and concepts characterized here are quite redundant, though the band is nowhere near bad at all. My advice would be to skip this and dig into their later full-lengths, Temples of Torment and Morbid Blood, which are slightly grimier and more fun than this, if no more unique themselves.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/ravencultbm

Ravencult - Morbid Blood (2011)

Ravencult is another of Greece's traditional black metal outfits, exchanging the cultural leanings or aural experimentation of a Rotting Christ or a Necromantia for a pure throttling pioneered by the likes of Bathory, Nifelheim, Mayhem and Impaled Nazarene. They lack the colder, depressive onslaught of a Dodsferd or Burial Hordes, but they compensate with a thick, writhing tone and a slew of memorable enough riff attacks that succeed in slamming the listener through a brick wall from the sheer level of hostility alone. This is not the black metal of the cold woods at night. You can't see your own breath in it. The wolves have turned in for the evening. No, this is more like a street fight through perdition, a brawl in the ritual chamber, a muscle car with a potent engine that spews only diabolical exhaust in its wake.

There's quite a bit of blasting here in "Hail Revenge", "Morbid Blood", or "Winds of Damnation", all of which mirror the volatile Northern Europe traditions of the genre, with gleaming banks of higher strings configured in harrowing patterns. But I found myself more drawn to the tracks that use the rock beats, like the opener "Sacrilege of Death", or the solid slamming of "With Hunter In Eyes". Where they break out into the speed metal streams of foul notation, the band truly starts to kick ass, the fuel injection finally arrives and they become something more than perhaps they should be. "Black Rites of Execration" is another standout here, with a lot of the typical black metal double bass rhythms but a good use of tight chords that create wavering windows to the sinister; plus the breakout riff at about 2:00 into the song totally slays, sure to thrill fans of Nifelheim, Gehenna or Bewitched. The final two tracks, "Sworn to the Unspoken Oath" and "The Gates of Bloodshed" are also fairly memorable.

Morbid Blood has a solid mid-range tone which allows the guitars to shine off like fresh bloodstains against the treacherous presence of Linos. The vocals are basically your standard snarling, but then I couldn't imagine what else might really work over such sinister guitars. An almost incessant, virile energy keeps it spry and entertaining for much of the 40 minute length, but the songs are standard length with at least a variation or two in each. The writing is hardly novel or fascinating, but it's a fitting accompaniment to murder that should have genre purists rolling in their guts, a fortified series of stab wounds that won't heal too quickly.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://www.ravencult.net/