Through the Ritual Hills

New England usually isn't held in high regards for it's black metal scene, but the area does indeed boast some superb bands. Among them Horn of Valere, Cold Northern Vengeance, Abaroth, and from the ashes of the latter band we have Infernecron. On thier first demo, "Through the Ritual Hills", this duo unleash an incredibly blasting, yet atmospheric assault, that is sure to please most black metal afficianados.

All the songs on this release are extremely fast, but also very dark and melodic. The music is also great at creating a sense of atmosphere, due in part to the production, which is clear, but very distant sounding. Keyboards are utilized, but are not overplayed, mainly being used to add extra layers of depth and grandeur to the epic riffs. The vocals consist of distant shrieks, which are common in this style, but effective none the less. Some chanting vocals are also utilized. The drums, which are obviously programmed, blast away almost non-stop at ridiculous speeds, but lack the creativity that real drumming provides. Also, as with most drum machines, the cymbals are far too bright sounding and loud, especially the ride cymbal, which can become somewhat irritating, but doesn't really detract from the music itself.

All things considered, this is a very impressive first release, especially the song "Wandering Soul". This band has a lot of potential for growth, but I think they need to experiment with some slower tempos, and maybe even acoustic sections to add to their already very atmospheric music.