The Black Dahlia Murder - Ritual review
| Band: | The Black Dahlia Murder |
| Album: | Ritual |
| Style: | Melodic death metal, Metalcore |
| Release date: | June 17, 2011 |
| A review by: | Doc G. |
01. A Shrine To Madness
02. Moonlight Equilibrium
03. On Stirring Seas Of Salted Blood
04. Conspiring With The Damned
05. The Window
06. Carbonized In Cruciform
07. Den Of The Picquerist
08. Malenchanments Of The Necrosphere
09. The Grave Robber's Work
10. The Raven
11. Great Burning Nullifier
12. Blood In The Ink
To be fair, these guys appear to be achieving exactly what they are setting out to do; create quasi-extreme music for people who don't normally enjoy extreme music. Admittedly, the first few leads shown in Ritual are actually pretty nifty. Much like eating mini-donuts, the first few are pretty damn good, shortly followed by the realization that you should find other means for sustenance. It seems almost like a compilation of half-assed aspects that are done better by other bands. The blistering extreme thrash moments make me want to listen to Skeletonwitch, the melodic leads make me want to listen to perhaps Arsis, and the "evil" sounding bits make me want to listen to Hannah Montana.
Terrible? Nah. To call Ritual a terrible album would be to say it left some kind of impression. Unremarkable. I like that word; feels comfortable using it on this album. Go eat an entire loaf of white bread with nothing on it, then you'll have an idea of what listening to this album is like. Yeah...it's not a shitty experience, just a pointless one.
Comments
Comments: 94
Visited by: 388 users
| munson Posts: 117  |
What a horrible review. You instantly lose all credibility for calling The Black Dahlia Murder a deathcore band. You should also know that the lead guitarist for TBDM is Ryan Knight, who was with Arsis when they recorded We Are The Nightmare, hence the desire to listen to Arsis. If you can't find something interesting to listen to on this album then you're clearly not a big fan of fresh melodic death metal. This albums is one of the best albums so far this year. Excellent songwriting, great riffs, killer drum performance, and a unique sound (Trevor Strnad's vocals are quite different from a vast majority of people).
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| koob Posts: 367 |
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Indeed deathcore it's not but calling this "fresh melodic death metal" is totally ludicrous. nothing fresh about it.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Megi Posts: 29 |
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| munson Posts: 117 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 14.07.2011 at 16:09 Fresh, in my use of the word does not mean "unique" or anything, it's just new. New as in released not long ago.
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| Megi Posts: 29 |
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by munson on 14.07.2011 at 17:44 Then you're using the word all wrong in this context 
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| silenius Posts: 531  |
Written by munson on 14.07.2011 at 13:39 you lost all credibility when you called them melodic death metal.
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| JD Account deleted |
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| The Benighted Posts: 243  |
Saw the review on the front page and thought, "This man just lost all credibility for calling TBDM deathcore." Came in to the review and saw everyone had it covered. What defines deathcore and what defines melodic death metal are fairly different, so you should probably invest some time into figuring out the details before making a review. Great album, in my opinion, with some of the strongest songwriting in their back catalog. I'd put this on par with Nocturnal for their best album.
---- Learn to adapt to the change, or get washed away like tears in the rain.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
And they aren't melodic death metal either/
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| The Benighted Posts: 243 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 14.07.2011 at 18:39 Yes, actually they are. I'm interested in hearing what you think they are though.
---- Learn to adapt to the change, or get washed away like tears in the rain.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by The Benighted on 14.07.2011 at 18:40 What people call Metalcore nowadays.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374  |
Yeah, what Marcel said.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| The Benighted Posts: 243 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 14.07.2011 at 18:44 I don't know if I'd call them metalcore, considering the Gothenburg influences (they're heavily influenced by At the Gates) and lack of breakdowns. Breakdowns are pretty much the staple of deathcore and metalcore, which I feel is a pretty good indicator. I can see where you're coming from though.
---- Learn to adapt to the change, or get washed away like tears in the rain.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by The Benighted on 14.07.2011 at 18:48 And Gothenburg actually his not melodic deth metal although people seem to think so, because that music has next to nothing in common with death metal. reakdowns are also a staple of thrash so that's saying nothing.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 14.07.2011 at 18:50 Gosh I hate those misconceptions as well. Gothenburg clearly has more stuff to do with thrash than death metal. Also... You can even listen to breakdowns in OLD SCHOOL death metal from time to time...
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| empty Posts: 31 |
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| The Benighted Posts: 243 |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 14.07.2011 at 19:25 I'm not saying that old school death metal didn't have breakdowns, but the way they're used today in metalcore and deathcore is completely different. It's all about context. Yes there's a general amount of thrash in Gothenburg, but all death metal has a good amount of thrash, not just that specific sub-genre. It all originated in thrash. To say it's more one than the other makes no sense considering where it all came from.
---- Learn to adapt to the change, or get washed away like tears in the rain.
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| Marcus Doit Like Bernie Posts: 642  |
I guess I'll be the first to say it, great review Doc, especially likening the album to a loaf of plain white bread. Brilliant.
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| cam Posts: 31 |
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| CAndjelkovic93 Posts: 15 |
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
I see all the fanboys being pissed off again  Did doc say it was shitty? NO, he did not. It's just pointless listening to this band for their are a gazillion better bands out there.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Winterthrone Posts: 289  |
Ok Doc, this is clearly not your best review on this site. First you didn't seem to take time to really acknowledge what the band is and what genre it is playing. I saw them live and they are not Deathcore at all more like thrash influenced Metalcore or what I call New Wave of American Metal...That means they are in the same category as Lamb of God, Shadows Fall et al. That doesn't mean they are similar but they have the same features: Thrash riffs, Melo leads, breakdowns, Hardcore-type Screamed vocals. Then, you seem to undermine the good aspects of the album by saying they attract you to other bands...But when I listen to a new album I almost always recognize some similarities with other bands and that doesn't make the album weaker so I can't understand how it is a bad thing in itself. I mean, if the band is copying a lead or a riff in it's entirety then it is problem, but if it is only an influence I can't see how it is a problem. Every artist in this world has influences...I also don't see the point of the Hannah Montana reference in the context you used it. It looks more like you didn't want to like the album before you listened to it which is not very good when you want to write a good review. i mean I know total objectivity is impossible, but you gotta be honest at least...Not judge the album by what you think it's gonna sound like before you listen to it...
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| JD Account deleted |
JD
Account deleted Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 14.07.2011 at 21:49 Nope, I don't think there are "gazillion better bands out there", they are the best in their genre, Melodeath? Death-Metalcore? Melodicdeathcore? you name it. One of the best albums in this year IMO, and it surely doesn't deserve this stupid review. 
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287  |
Who really gives a shit which genre the album is pigeonholed into? it's funny that stupid tag gets 90% of the comments and outrage rather than his opinions on the album itself. deathcore. tdm. sludge. slamzydecocore. doesn't matter. the part of the review that matters is his thoughts on the actual music itself... the whitebread part. continue your regularly scheduled whining though.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| psykometal A staff guy... Elite Posts: 6101  |
Have to agree that seeing you call this band deathcore made me lose all respect for you as a music critic because these guys are clearly not deathcore and imo never have been. Have they used breakdown? Yes. Have those breakdowns been the big bass drop slow shitty bob up and down breakdowns that deathcore and metalcore bands are known for having? Absolutely not. So they are far from -core anything as far as I'm concerned. Melodic death metal? Definintely. They have much more in common with death metal than thrash and -core and they are melodic. And imo this album is definitely one of their best yet.
---- ~Zep, Database and Forum Moderation~ 
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by [user id=28526] on 14.07.2011 at 22:12 One of the best albums this year? By that statement it's as if you haven't heard a single new release this year And yes I have heard the entire album. It's boring, bland, done to death generic modern day metalcore. Overproduced clinical stuff without a bite.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| JD Account deleted |
JD
Account deleted Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 14.07.2011 at 22:27 Hahaha yeah actually it's the only album I've heard this year, and It kickass, boring? bland? well it's your opinion and am sure there are many people will disagree with you, did you even heard some of their old albums to compare it with this one?
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