Band:	Impetuous Ritual
Album:	Iniquitous Barbarik Synthesis
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	May 12, 2023
A review by:	X-Ray Rod

01. Sanguinary Abstraction
02. Lecherous Molestation
03. Rite Of Impalement
04. Necromantic Esurience
05. Grail Of Enmity
06. Intramural Axiom
07. Psychic Necrosis
08. Sacreligious Penance
09. Metempsychosis

Impetuous Ritual are neither re-inventing death metal nor their own cavernous style. But they don’t need to when the result is this hellish.

These Australians have been around for almost 2 decades. With four albums under their belt, it seems they take their sweet time in writing new material, although the link with Portal and their last 3 albums does explain the 6 year long gap. It is logical to start describing Impetuous Ritual by comparing it to its next of kin. But that is both unfair and offtopic. While Portal focuses greatly on dissonance, dark ambient and horror themes, Impetuous Ritual are much more traditional in their songwriting while pushing the sound itself towards more extreme landscapes. This is achievable thanks to an impenetrable production which molds all instruments into a massive ball of negativity. Iniquitous Barbarik Synthesis ends up sounding as if all the equipment is being consumed by fire. It is a gritty, loud and at times shapeless sound.

What I’m always grateful to hear in Impetuous Ritual’s music are those psychedelic touches that are tastefully placed here and there throughout their albums. It is no different here as the alarming guitar solos and leads are mind-altering and complement well the savagery of the drums and the hollow, distant howls that seem to come from a chained beast. The riffs themselves are the main meat and potatoes of this album though. A cascade of lava. A swarm of rabid insects. I could use many metaphors but you get the idea. The riffs are massive and fuzzy in tone. They are responsible for the aggression and wild speed.

For the first half, that is.

On previous albums, Impetuous Ritual left the longest song for last. Well, here it is a bit different as the 3 last songs of the album are the longest and together take half the album’s total length. The fast and intense songs of the first half of the album lead the way to an epic finale where ritualistic drums and slow, mighty riffs are the main course. The music’s approach is at its most doomy here and the building of tension is highly effective. This is the first time I hear Impetuous Ritual capitalizing that much on a slow-burning songwriting technique and it did pay off well.

If you enjoyed Impetuous Ritual’s previous output, make sure to check Iniquitous Barbarik Synthesis. If you are new to the band then congratulations for this album is the one where they truly flesh out their style.