RITUALIZATION (Fra) – Hema Ignis Necros MCD

“epic” is an apt descriptor for this three-song/26 mini-album, as the nuclear-powered bestiality of yore – channeled from death metal’s most infernal depths, as practiced by the elite lineage of Angelcorpse/Perdition Temple, Centurian/Nox, and Ravager/Hacavitz – is welded to winding, barbed-wire complexity of songcraft. Sharpened like a gleaming blade, their sulfurous ultraviolence is finessed to an exceptional degree, with terror and tension lurking in the record’s more reposed moments. It’s a statement of intent, to be sure, and one that proves that serious blackened death is still worth reckoning.