KILL RITUAL – The Opaque And The Divine

April 14, 2020 Bryce Van Patten Album Reviews, Reviews 0
KILL RITUAL - The Opaque And The Divine
  • 8.4/10
    KILL RITUAL - The Opaque And The Divine - 8.4/10
8.4/10

Summary

Extreme Management Group
Release date: March 27, 2020

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8.5/10 (1 vote)

Masterpiece of Production

KILL RITUAL punches you in the face with kick ass, shredding metal on their 5th release The Opaque and the Divine. The album is a masterpiece of production from the stunning guitars of Steven D. Rice to the excellent vocals by Brian “Chalice” Betterton, with amazing drumming of Seamus Gleason and bass of David Alusik making up the fantastic rhythm section.

Tasty Metal

From the opening track “Rest in Pain” onward, the album has a lot to love for any metal head. Do you like screamers? Chalice can scream. Do you like growlers? Chalice can growl. Do you like melodic metal vocals? I think you get the picture. KILL RITUAL has all of these things to offer, along with some of the tastiest guitar work I’ve heard in years.

“Dead God” follows with more of the same. Well thought out compositions and a maturity in song development shows that this band has so much to offer. “King of Fools” delivers foot stomping, headbanging fun with great guitar harmonies and vocals that every now and then remind a little of Geoff Tate back in the day. The vocals are different enough on each track to where it’s hard to pin down any direct comparisons, which is really nice.

Produced by Andy La Rocque

The album was recorded, engineered, mixed and mastered by none other than Andy La Rocque of KING DIAMOND fame. This alliance with La Rocque works very well, and his touch is felt and heard on this fine record including a solo on “Touch the Dark”. The album is a total of 8 songs which feels like the perfect number to draw you in and transfix you till the last note.

Final Notes

Steven D. Rice and company have delivered a stunning group of songs on “The Opaque and the Devine”.  If you aren’t already a fan of KILL RITUAL, play this record and you soon will be.

Line Up

Steven D. Rice – Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Brian “Chalice” Betterton – Vocals
Seamus Gleason – Drums
David Alusik – Bass

The Opaque And The Divine – Track List

1. Rest In Pain
2. Dead God
3. King Of Fools
4. World Gone Mad
5. Praise The Dead
6. Veil Of The Betrayer
7. Touch The Dark
8. A Child To Die For Again

 

Author

  • Bryce Van Patten

    Bryce is an audio engineer and a graphic designer here at Metal Express Radio. From the day he purchased his first album (Machine Head by Deep Purple), he has had a passion for heavy music, which has influenced his whole life. Bryce is from the great Pacific Northwest in USA, and has played in metal bands like Babylon, Holy Terror, The Wild Dogs, Warhead and Egypt through the 80s. He had his first interview for the Portland, Oregon publication The Rock Rag with guitarist Paul Gilbert in his Racer X days. Then he was honored to get to have drinks, and talk for an hour with the legendary Dan McCafferty of Nazareth for his second interview. In 2013, he spent an amazing hour talking to Andi Deris of Helloween, which was the high point of his heavy metal journalism.   In the year 2001, he formed Man in Black Music Publishing. They released recordings by several local bands, and in the spirit of the old Metal Massacre compilations, he created a 2-album series called The Defenders of Metal. The albums featured classic styled Metal bands from all around the world, with bands from Australia to England, and from Argentina to Russia. Currently, he is the producer/creator/vocalist of the Metal band The Black Tuesdays.

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