Perhaps a better name would be Temple of Balls because Lightslaying Rituals is ballsy black metal from France. And yes, I realize I referenced a swinging pair of elephant balls in my recent Die Hard review, but goddamnit it is applicable here too!

Temple of Baal consists of a group of veterans of the heavy wars, specifically members and ex-members of Antaeus (an act that has reached new heights of BM aggression), Glorior Belli, and Hell-Militia. As such, one can understand from where this level of bellicosity originates. In fact, Lightslaying Rituals is more of a death/black amalgam than a pure black metal release. The sheer weight of the riffing, the monstrous roaring vocals, and the punishing rhythm section is death to the bone. As far as black metal is concerned though, consider the more muscular (Watain, even Gorgoroth) and ferocious (1349, the most recent album notwithstanding) end of the spectrum.

More than just purposeless battery, the songwriting of Lightslaying Rituals is quite strong, though hardly “melodic.” Tracks such as opener “Piercing the Veils of Slumber” – a statement that kind of sums of the approach of the album as a whole – are deftly structured, which helps to maintain some degree of track identity. Just don’t expect to find yourself whistling along while you work. More than anything else, Lightslaying Rituals is a big, bad ass bruiser of a release, the one point that you’ll take away no matter how many times you play it.

[Visit the band's website]

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